The Chronicles Of UOA
by Wandering Letters
Summary: Who would've thought that so much could result from a Facebook group, a little imagination and loads of amazing people? Imagine a school where everyone could attend in a world where the only things we worried about were our day to day lives? Welcome to the University Of Angels! Enjoy your stay in Heaven!
1. Prologue: Welcome To UOA

**(A/N): So I decided to go ahead and introduce everything with a nice little prologue! I'll do my best to introduce everyone as quickly as possible in the coming chapters but until the roster is finished, we can take our time and go ahead with this!**

**Thanks to everyone for participating and please, feel free to drop some feedback. You all are just as much of the writers as I am!**

* * *

**Prologue: Welcome To UOA**

* * *

"You've been assigned to the Du Couteau Dormitory,"

I scratched my nose and shrugged.

"I'll never understand why these names are so fancy," I said with a nervous laugh.

The woman shook her head.

"Thank the headmasters for that," she replied with a laugh of her own.

I then handed her my Major Declaration form and she smiled at me.

"Major in Music and Minor in Acting?" she asked.  
"I'm a girl who loves singing and pretending to be someone I'm not?" I replied with a chuckle.

She stamped the form and placed it in a pile beside her.

"We'll get it sorted out by the end of the week and we've already taken care of the classes that you and your adviser decided on," she said.

I smiled brightly at her and bowed slightly.

"Thanks for all your help," I said.  
"Anytime Flora," she replied.

I ensured my bag was still secure on my back as I pulled the second one by the handle.

Who would've thought that I would've actually gotten into this college after all this effort? I wasn't exactly a star student; I just did enough to keep my parents off my back and well, enough to make me not feel like I'm slacking.

I wasn't much of a sportsman either…in fact, I'd say I'm a pretty lazy overall apart from the effort I put into music and acting.

At the age of 17, I was pretty ahead of the game considering that I was here at UOA already...but I knew it would only get more difficult from here on out; this was quite a big change form what I'm used to in Canada in terms of credits but now that I finally went through with all these classes, I definitely had my work cut out for me for the next four or so years. Loads of sleepless nights…lots of coffee and tea in the library and basically all day everyday of classes…then the homework.

"_Dear god what have I done to myself…"_

I took out my cellphone and called a familiar number.

"_Hey sis,"_  
"Big brother!" I replied.

I heard him laughing on the other end.

"_Sorry I'm not there to give you a welcome; writer's convention and all,"_ he said.  
"It's okay! When are you coming back?" I asked.  
_"In about a week...you know where my room is,"_ he replied.

My eyes glanced to the floor as I remembered the last time I saw him. I couldn't believe it was four years since he moved away from Canada to Jamaica. After spending three years there, he got into UOA and moved here last year, making him a sophomore in terms of time.

I sighed inwardly to myself; he was going to miss my birthday tomorrow...but he needed to be at that convention or he'd probably fall behind in his program.

"I miss you so much big bro,"  
_"You don't have long to wait...so go get settled in and remember what I told you,"_  
"No alcohol?"  
_"Because it makes you crazy,"_

I snickered softly; he was around when I had my first drink. Long story short...let's just say it didn't end very well.

"Alright I promise," I said.  
_"Good girl...now I gotta go; event's about to start,"  
_"Have fun!"  
_"Stay out of trouble little sister,"_

The phone cut off as I searched for a number and called my friend, who hadn't arrived yet for some strange reason.

"Vanna?"  
_"Hey,"_  
"Where the hell are you?"  
_"Didn't you get my text? I already handed in my declaration form this morning...I should've called,"  
_"Goddamn it! I was waiting for you,"

She laughed softly.

_"The freshman year's all here at the student lounge...are you coming?"  
_"You already want to make friends?" I asked raising my eyebrow.  
_"Can I help that I actually want to know people unlike before?"_  
"Yeah you can...cause that's really unlike you because you're...really shy?" I said as a matter of factly.

She once again laughed softly.

_"I guess I just don't want the next four years to start out without any friends,"  
_"Alright...I'm coming,"

* * *

**Moments Later- The Main Building, Student's Lounge**

**"Attention all freshman! Our headmaster will be taking you all on the tour of the campus momentarily so please remain in the lobby until he arrives,"**

The loud intercom became silent as a large crowd of students continued to talk amongst themselves.

Flora looked at Vanna to see that she was smiling.

"What's got you so happy?" she asked.  
"The headmaster's really nice...and I already took a walk around the entire campus; it's practically a resort," she replied.

She then pulled out a map and handed it to me as she began to point at locations.

"Right now, we're in the main building which has four floors, all of the general courses are done here on the top three floors, the bottom floor has this lounge, a few offices and a computer lab," she explained.  
"A _very_ well equipped lounge..." murmured Flora.

The large room had a total of 10 couches with four sections of seating split with three lounge chairs in front of each along with a coffee table. Three large TVs sat on the walls of the room, spread out so that none of them would overlap each other in the audio. There was also two large vending machines on the left which accepted student ID cards to buy snacks in case anyone didn't happen to have any physical cash on them. A complete coffee station sat to the right side of the room, something that many people took advantage of in the early mornings when classes could start as early at 8 AM.

On the left of the room was a booth which allowed students to take gaming consoles out to use while in the lounge as well as a huge selection of games and movies to play. The booth also had a full karaoke set for every Friday and Saturday night for those who were interested in participating. It was actually quite the popular pass time, with no less than thirty difference participants on each night.

"I apologize for the wait everyone!"

Everyone turned to face a rather youthful looking man, dressed in a charcoal suit with a crimson tie.

"I'd like to take the opportunity to thank each and every one of you for choosing the University Of Angels and I certainly do hope you'll enjoy your stay here," he said with a polite bow.

Flora turned to Vanna.

"He's pretty charismatic," she whispered.  
"Pretty handsome too,"

He then stretched out his hands.

"I am the headmaster of this school but as you can probably tell from the way I dress and appear, I'm not particularly one for formalities so you may all call me Tony," he said.

The freshman body applauded him for a few seconds until he raised his hands again.

"Now that I've introduced myself, how about we get this tour underway? Currently, you are standing in one of three student lounges we have on campus, this one being the smallest of the three," he explained.

He then pointed his two index fingers towards the ceiling.

"The lights are still being changed out on the floors above so in the interest of giving the workers the time they need, we won't be going upstairs for this particular tour, I do apologize for the inconvenience," said Tony.

Flora noticed a woman raising her hand and gasped upon realizing who it was.

"Headmaster! If you've walked the whole campus already, do you have to be present for the tour?" she asked.

Tony smiled at her and shrugged.

"By all means; if you've been around the place already then I don't see any point in coming on this tour," he said.

She smiled and left the room along with a few others, including Flora and Vanna who joined her in the small courtyard.

"Lily?! You're coming here too?!" cried Flora.

Lily turned to Flora and smiled before hugging her. Lily Nguyen was one of Flora's closest friends and the absolute closest person to Jordan, her older brother.

"Well of course, someone's gotta take care of that idiot brother of yours when you aren't around," she replied.

Flora rolled her eyes.

"Why worry about him? He's fine," said Flora.  
"I know him better than anyone alive right now; trust me, he's got issues he needs to resolve while he's here," said Lily raising a finger.

She then poked Flora in the head.

"You should have a heart to heart with him when he gets here," suggested Lily.

Lily then turned to Vanna.

"Good to see that you're still around after all this time, you're doing Engineering and Chemistry right?" asked Lily.

Vanna nodded as Lily snickered.

"You're gonna be killing yourself with work that's for sure," she said.  
"Says the medical student," said Flora rolling her eyes.

Lily shrugged.

"It's no double major level of work that's for sure," said Lily with a shrug.

Lily then flicked Flora in the forehead.

"Don't get into any trouble and give your brother more to worry about," she said.

Flora childishly stuck her tongue out at the woman who was essentially her older sister; she and her brother Jordan were very close friends, to the point where a lot of people thought they were actually together but in reality, the two of them were no more than the best of friends.

"I'm gonna go get unpacked...I suggest the two of you do the same," she said.

She was about to walk off until she snapped her fingers.

"Forgot...need to give you mine and Carrie's numbers," she said.  
"Why?" asked Flora.  
"New phones...Carrie lives in the same dormitory as the two of you but never hurts to have the number," replied Lily.

After giving Flora the two numbers, she left the two of them to their thoughts.

* * *

**A Few Minutes Later- Flora And Vanna's Room**

"Didn't I tell you **not** to pack everything in the whole damned house Flora…" I sighed.

She made a sound half way between a hiss and a groan.

"I wanted to be prepared…" she replied.  
"Thank god that there's another room for Raina and our fourth roomate...otherwise we'd be in problems..." I said putting my hand to my forehead.

For some strange reason, Flora _always_ had to ensure that she had something for any situation, even going so far as to bring **_TWO_**rice cookers in case the other one didn't work.

"Well...at least I can steal stuff from you if I run out," I snickered.

Flora shrugged as she looked down at her watch.

"What're we gonna do till tonight when Raina gets here?" she asked.  
"Video games and movies till we pass out?" I suggested.

She smiled.

"Sounds like a plan to me!"

* * *

**Later That Evening- Lily's Room**

_"Opted to live alone again did you?"_  
"You know me; me and my food always," I replied.

I heard him laugh loudly on the other end.

_"I'm amazed you let Carrie stay in the room with you until her roommates are done with their portions,"  
_"She's a pretty light sleeper and she has class early in the morning...it'd be evil to let her sit in that hellhole," I replied.

He chuckled again.

_"You and I both know that it won't be the solitary life forever,"  
_"We've been friends since we were kids and you're trying to tell me that you know me better than myself?"  
_"I know that you have a heart...and I know that I care deeply enough for you to want you to open up to others apart from Flora, Carrie and I,"_

I smiled at his sincerity.

"You always know the right words to say to a woman," I teased.  
_"If only that extended to all women,"_ he replied with a scoff.

I laughed at his tone as I wiped the water from my face.

_"I told Flora that I'd be back in a week...but I figured I'd surprise her for her birthday tomorrow,"_  
"You got everything you needed for her?" I asked.  
_"She'll love it,"_

I shook my head and sighed; Jordan was such a thoughtful person and he always went the extra mile for those he cared about and yet still, there he was living the lone wolf lifestyle.

"It's amazing how far beyond the call of duty you go for all of us...a few weeks ago you drove all the way up to LA to visit me when you were in Florida and three months ago, you shipped Carrie a giant box of Jamaican food and spices for a birthday present when you were out in Jamaica," I said.  
_"You all mean the world to me; why would I not?"_

I laughed again.

"Are you ever going to try dating someone?" I asked.

He was silent for a few moments until I heard him release a heavy breath.

_"If it happens it happens...I'm not on a mission,"_ he replied.  
"Who knows, you might get lucky when you come back," I said optimistically.  
_"I've been here for a year already and I know most people in the school by name and face...there isn't a single one,"_  
"I'm sure some transfers will arrive; you'll see," I assured.  
_"...You really think so?"_

There it was again...that special tone. The kind of tone that he only gave off when he was vulnerable and unsure of his beliefs. I tried for a very long time to open him up to the possibility of having someone other than his sister, Carrie and I around but he just wasn't interested; if anyone knew the pain of heartbreak very well, it was him.

"I know so," I replied.

I could almost see the smile I put on his face; I knew him so well that I could practically predict his every reaction without even having to see him. Even though he was ordinarily an emotionless pickle, I learned to tell how he was feeling by slight changes in his voice in addition to reading his eyes and right now, I probably just restored a great deal of his faith and confidence.

_"Thanks...so I'll be there tomorrow afternoon,"  
_"Sounds good...Carrie will be glad to see you too," I said.  
_"It's been about two years since I last saw her?"_  
"Three actually...she went away to do those dance lessons in France remember?"

I heard the facepalm that he gave himself.

_"For a college student...I'm rather terrible at math,"_  
"Which is why you have me to do your math homework for you," I teased.  
_"And I can write your essays for you,"_

I cursed under my breath; he got me again. I wasn't the best at writing essays whereas he could write 3000 words essays as if they were just a menial task. That was _definitely_ something he could do that I couldn't...

"Sometimes I kind of regret you knowing me so well..." I sighed.  
_"And there are **many more** times that I'm glad you know me this well,"_

I smiled as I climbed into my bed and turned to Carrie, who was across from me..._still_ staring at the ceiling.

_"When is Zinnia arriving?"_  
"Tomorrow supposedly...she's gonna miss the first day of classes," I replied.  
_"That's your half sister alright...a lot like you but punctuality isn't one of the strong suits that you have,"_  
"Don't be mean..." I growled.  
_"You know I love you both like my own family so it's all in good fun,"_

Zinnia Justiniano and I shared the same mother but different fathers, making us half sisters.

"You wanna say hi to Carrie?" I asked.  
_"Hand it to her,"_

**~ o ~**

I felt a phone land on my stomach, breaking me from my daydream as I looked at Lily who was smiling at me.

"Is this my annoying little brother?"  
_"Is this my beautiful older sister?"_

I started laughing loudly.

"You haven't changed at all these past three years...except now your voice is deep,"  
_"Likewise...minus the deep part,"_

I turned my back to Lily.

"I really miss you..." I said.  
_"You don't have long to wait to see me again,"_

I smiled brightly.

"Did you bring anything for me?" I asked.  
_"Went to Victoria's Secret with my cousin and she had me pick something at random for you,"_

I blushed profusely.

"What the hell? Why did she take you in there?" I asked.  
_"To get me used to having a girlfriend which she firmly believes I'm going to find this year at UOA,"_ he replied in a mock tone of his cousin.

I started laughing hysterically.

_"I know you like dark red so I chose that one...gotta say it would look good on you,"_  
"Someone's dirty minded," I teased.  
_"Good thing we don't see each other like that then eh?"_  
"Doesn't give you a right to be a pervert,"  
_"Coming from the woman who's modeled underwear in front of me like it's casual Sunday?"_

I snickered loudly.

"You're not getting any woman with a mind as pure as yours," I teased.  
_"And you have to be the one to corrupt me? If I didn't know better I'd call it incest,"_  
"And if it is?"

My tone changed to a seductive one; I absolutely adored teasing him like this because it was one of the very few ways to get him flustered.

_"Then I'm not interested,"_

I once again laughed at my handiwork; he had to clear his throat to respond.

"Lily, Flora and I are the best sisters ever right?"  
_"...The most **brilliant**,"_ he replied in a very sarcastic tone.

I let out a sigh after finishing the air in my lungs with yet another burst of laughter.

_"I know that sigh anywhere...tell me what's on your mind,"_  
"Can't this wait till tomorrow?" I asked.  
_"You're not going to sleep very well tonight which will then result in you falling asleep in the English class you and I have together in the morning which will then cause me to have to actually write notes...we're talking right now,"_ he scolded.

I sighed deeply again.

"Well...it's this guy that I met about five months ago,"  
_"Go on,"_

His tone had immediately shifted from flustered to the overprotective brother.

"I've...liked him for a little while now but I'm not entirely sure how to approach him,"  
_"You're a beautiful woman and what I believe to be example of what many women should strive to be like...so the roles should be reversed; he should be the one trying to approach you,"_ he replied.

I felt heat in my cheeks; even though Jordan was silly in a lot of ways, the one quality that I loved about him was that he was always honest and he never hid what was on his mind. One could always count on him for an honest opinion and when it concerned me, Lily or Flora, he would shift into this very protective persona. The number of times he's gotten cold to men who flirt with Flora especially were testament to this; he would often warn them not to hurt her or he would eat their souls and **then** kill them.

"I don't know...it's just something that's been on my mind for a while and he does go to this school,"  
_"I'm going to venture a guess...and say Paul Bui,"_

My mouth dropped open.

"How the hell did you know?" I snapped.  
_"He says that you look at him with that kind of interest...he's a friend of mine actually,"_

I sighed deeply.

"So I'm guessing it's not mutual huh?..." I asked.  
_"We all know that love takes time...the fact that he notices you already means that you have a good chance; it takes a lot to capture the attention of a man like that,"_  
"But he doesn't even look at me..."  
_"The words curves and contours are some of the ones he uses to describe you...so I wouldn't say that,"_

I blushed profusely again.

_"Don't worry about it sis...focus on your classes at least until the weekend, then we can try and get something started,"_  
"To think that I'm getting wingmanned by a romantic idiot like you," I said rolling my eyes.  
_"Sticks and stones Miss Grumpy,"_

I could envision the shit eating grin he had on his face right now.

"So what about you little brother? Any lucky ladies you have your sights set on?" I asked.  
_"None at all...then again, I'm not looking around,"_  
"Why not! You're in college and you're not even going to try?" I asked.  
_"...Do I have you remind you what happened back home in Jamaica before I left?"_

I sighed deeply and felt his sorrow go through me; for some reason, Jordan had absolutely rotten luck with women. The last girl that he had a crush on lived somewhere near his house in Jamaica. They ended up dating for about two months until the girl's parents really began to treat her horribly due to him not being full Chinese.

It was an absolutely stupid reason to want to break up but because Jordan cared so much for others over himself; he chose to end the relationship in favor of her having a more comfortable family life. The fact that he was willing to let go of his feelings for her in order for her to have a better life was a kindness I didn't see very often in men nowadays and more and more, it really made me wonder as to how he was still single for all this time; despite his cold exterior and his rather blunt way of speaking to people...he really has a kind heart.

"You can't live in the past...at least come to a party on the weekend with Lily, Flora and I," I begged.  
_"Are you talking about the freshman's welcome party?"_  
"No...the _afterparty_ of that party," I replied.

He snickered.

_"Who do you think is the bartender?"_ he asked.  
"Oh you actually got the job! I'm so proud of you," I said cheerfully.

He laughed softly.

_"Carrie...I need you to do something for me whenever I'm not with you and Lily,"_ he asked.  
"What is it?" I asked.  
_"I don't have a single class with any of you apart from the English class and the Stratus Dorm is nearly half way across the campus...I just want you to look out for Lily when I can't; I don't want her to get hurt in any shape or form,"_ he asked.  
"I always do...but I understand the concern,"  
_"She's my closest friend, we grew up doing everything together and I would hate to see her cry,"  
_"Alright...I'll keep an eye on her whenever you're not around, I promise,"

I heard a soft sigh of relief.

_"She's the most important person to me apart from Flora...I don't want her to feel any kind of pain,"_  
"Aww...someone has a heart of gold," I teased.

He scoffed.

"Which makes me wonder why the hell you're still single," I sighed.  
_"I'm about as lucky as a guy who walks under a ladder and spills seven salt shakers while staring at a black cat crossing his path,"_

I snickered at his comment.

"You've been here for a year already...maybe this year will be different," I said.  
_"I doubt it...but thanks for the sentiment,"_

He let out a breath.

_"Gotta finish this paper for Thursday...so I'll see you tomorrow,"_

Of course...he would be doing a paper that's due almost a week in advance...then again, he didn't have much to do when he couldn't sleep at night locked up in his room.

"Love you little brother,"

He laughed softly.

_"Love you too,"_

* * *

**Meanwhile- The Stratus Dormitory**

"Back for another year of sleepless nights and a metric shit ton of reading..." I sighed.  
"Don't complain mate; you're the idiot who decided to do medical school after all,"

I glanced over to my new friend. He had a British accent and was surprisingly well built. He introduced himself as Gary and he was majoring in Sports Medicine and Training. His most distinguishing feature apart from his accent was undoubtedly his snowy blonde hair, which for some reason always defied gravity.

"I appreciate the help in moving my stuff in here," I said with a grateful nod.

He chuckled.

"Anytime," he replied.  
"What about you? You all settled in?" I asked.  
"Moved my shit in hours ago," he replied.

I nodded.

"You have class at 5 AM tomorrow don't you?"  
"Not class...just a training regiment I'm taking on which involves an hour of cardio early in the morning before I start my day," he replied.

I nodded slowly.

"That's gonna take some serious dedication to keep up," I said.  
"Oh please Kevin...the amount of work you have to do makes what I do look like a cakewalk," he said rolling his eyes.

Well...he was half right when he said that; being a second year medical student certainly had a huge amount of work but thankfully, it wasn't as hard for someone like me who works very well under pressure. In fact, I actually enjoyed it a lot.

"Well you better get some sleep cause you have only about 4 hours of sleep," I said.

Gary nodded and waved to me.

"See you at lunch tomorrow?...or should I say today?" he asked.  
"Count on it," I replied.

With a final nod, he ran off to his own room as I closed my door.

_"This year's gonna be fun...I know it,"_

* * *

**Meanwhile- The Headmaster's Office**

"Another late night sir?"

I looked up from my paperwork to see my assistant peeking through the door. I smiled at her.

"Not much longer...just need to finish these forms," I said.  
"You kill yourself with all of this and you don't put any of the work on your assistant," she said rolling her eyes.  
"Because I like the work?"  
"Then what's the point of having an assistant?" she retorted.

I sighed deeply.

"There's just no winning an argument with you is there Lisa?" I sighed.  
"Not at all Tony," she replied with a wink.

Despite how little I relied on her, Lisa was still one of the most important people in my life at the moment; she took care of whatever I couldn't and always looked out for my well being. I think I got very lucky when she accepted the job offer because I know that I wasn't going to be the best of bosses...but she stuck by me for the last two years and she didn't appear to have any intention of giving up on me.

"Let me finish it up...you need some sleep after taking the freshmen on a tour of the ENTIRE campus," she said.

I sighed and rose to my feet.

"Alright...it's just the forms for the rest of the equipment that we're replacing in the gym," I explained.  
"What happened to Dustin? Wasn't he supposed to take care of that?" she asked.

I shook my head.

"He's away on a trip, something about a marathon in Venice," I replied.  
"Of course...anything to get a great workout right?" she said rolling her eyes.

I chuckled at her tone as she picked up all of the paperwork.

"Thanks Lisa...I couldn't do any of this without you," I said.  
"It's my job as your assistant...and also your friend," she said.

I hugged her and she responded by burying her head against my neck due to no free hands.

"See you in the morning...over breakfast?" I asked.

She smiled brightly at me.

"As long as you don't steal my hot chocolate again," she said with the most adorable pout I've ever seen.

I nodded.

"I promise,"


	2. A Heartfelt Reunion

**(A/N): First chapter has arrived!**

**I'm surprised at the massive reception of this! I'm touched that you guys liked the prologue so much! Special thanks to Tony for pinning it up for everyone to see in the group. This is probably gonna evolve into a really big project just like the last one. If anyone's interested in reading the other story, let me know! I'll hit you up with the PDF of it.**

**Let's get right back to it.**

* * *

**Chapter 1: A Heartfelt Reunion**

* * *

**The Following Afternoon- The Main Building, Student's Lounge**

"Why are we here again?..." I asked with a deep sigh.  
"Because Lily wanted us to meet her here," replied Vanna.

I rolled my eyes as we entered the building only to find it in complete darkness.

"Is...no one here?" I asked.  
"That's really weird...why are the lights off?" asked Vanna.

I made my way over to a lounge chair and took a seat...only to feel someone's lap. I felt a tremendous chill go down my spine but once the lights went on, I nearly had a heart attack.

"**SURPRISE!**"

I looked around to see quite a number of people I knew...and a few I didn't. I turned around to see that I had sat in Lily's lap as she hugged me.

"Happy birthday Flora," she said.

I eagerly turned to her and hugged her tightly.

"Thank you so much...I appreciate it," I said.  
_"Party wouldn't be complete without someone else now would it?"_

My mouth dropped open upon realizing whose voice that was as I turned to the door.

"Surprise!" she said.  
"Z-Z-Zinnia! Onee-chan!"

I ran and almost tackled her with a hug.

"Good to see you! Can't believe you're still so adorable even at the age of 18," said Zinnia.

I sighed softly.

_"Everyone's here...except for Jordan...stupid writer's convention..."_

I felt a few tears well up in my eyes as I glanced around at all the people who were here. Some of them even skipped class just to be here for my birthday...but it didn't feel complete without my big brother.

Zinnia must've noticed the tears in my eyes and hugged me.

"Hey...don't cry," she urged.

I let out a heavy breath.

"I...just miss him so much," I sobbed.  
_"Then why are you over there hugging her when you should be over here hugging me,"_

My eyes widened as Zinnia released me. I turned around and much to my surprise...there he was, standing at the other entrance to the building.

"Sorry I lied...had to in order to surprise you with this," he said laughing nervously.

He pulled a large wrapped up suitcase forward and allowed it to stand up.

"B-B-Big brother?!

**~ o ~**

I couldn't help but smile brightly at her reaction. She immediately and dashed to Jordan who happily captured her in a hug.

"I-I-I'm so glad you're here..." she cried.  
"I always do something for your birthday...I'm glad I actually got to be here; I've missed four of them as it is," he said.

Even though Jordan was deathly overprotective of her sometimes, I understood why; both their parents passed away a few years ago and it was really up to Jordan to take care of them both. Now that Flora was of age, she could definitely handle herself now and this day represented not just her coming of age but also the day in which Jordan no longer had to be her legal guardian; she could be on her own now.

"Now you're old enough to go out on your own...and I'm the _proudest_ brother alive to see you reach 18," he said.

He released the embrace and led her to the rest of us...only to get tackled to the couch by Carrie.

"Well hello to you too," he said, his voice almost completely muffled by Carrie's chest.  
"It's so good to see you again! God I missed you so much," she said.

She finally released him as he gasped for air.

"You're gonna be the death of me one of these days you crazy woman..." he said with a sigh.  
"You know you like it," she replied with a wink.

He then turned to me, smiling brightly as he approached me.

"I'm back," he said.

I rose to my feet and immediately hugged him.

"Come on now...I was only gone a couple of weeks..." he said softly.  
"I'm nothing without my little brother...I missed you so much,"

I didn't realize how melancholy my tone became but once he returned the embrace, I felt that familiar sense of comfort.

"I'm not going anywhere and you know where to find me anytime," he whispered.  
"Can we talk later? After the party?" I asked.

He nodded against my shoulder.

"For now, let's make sure my little sister has an 18th to remember!"

* * *

**Later That Evening- The Stratus Dormitory, Student Lounge**

_"Best. Headmaster. Ever."_

Not only did Headmaster Tony allow us to have the party in the main building's lounge but he also allowed us to take it over to Jordan's dormitory building, called Stratus. This dormitory was different from the others because it had the most single rooms of any of the other five and it was the only building that came equipped with balconies. Jordan lived on the top floor in the room to the very back of the building. Thus far, not a single person has been inside of that room with the exception of Tony who went inside to ensure everything was up to scratch in terms of living conditions. Jordan didn't allow anyone inside...not even me and I was the closest person to him.

"So this is the little sister you've talked so much about?" asked Tony.

Jordan nodded.

"She's all I have left," he replied.  
"And you've taken really good care of her, you should be a proud brother," said Tony placing his hand on Jordan's right shoulder.  
"The proudest,"

Jordan took another gulp of the soda in his hand as Tony clapped loudly, bringing everyone's attention to him.

"It's been an awesome evening everyone but now, we're gonna have to shut down because classes are happening in the morning," he said.

There was a slight boo of disagreement but Tony put a serious face on.

"Save this for the Freshmen Welcoming Party which all of you are invited to!"

It amazed me as to how he was able to look so serious then shift into someone so cool and happy-go-lucky.

"Besides...everyone else in Stratus needs sleep and we've kept them awake for long enough," he said.

* * *

**A Few Minutes Later- Lily's Room**

"You didn't have to walk all the way here you know," I said.  
"You live in the furthest dorm away from me...I'll take my chances," he replied.

I rolled my eyes and flicked him in the forehead.

"I'm a big girl...I can take care of myself," I said with a pout.  
"Call it being sure...besides, we didn't get to talk before," he said.

I nodded as I handed him a bag of Ruffles, which he politely declined.

"If I eat anymore...I'm gonna pop like a balloon," he said.

I then sucked in a breath.

"I wanted to talk about you...how're you doing?" I asked.  
"It's been very difficult to focus on anything because of this stupid writer's block that's been plaguing me for the past few weeks...I'm behind schedule when it comes to my papers," he explained.

I rolled my eyes.

"I didn't mean with your work...I meant _you_,"

He sighed and shook his head.

"Giving me the talk again aren't you?" he asked looking away.  
"Look...you spend all day cooped up in that room of yours, only coming out to go to class, eat lunch and dinner in the cafeteria and shower...of course I'm concerned about you Jordan," i said.

He drew in another breath.

"I knew what I signed up for when I chose this life; it would be a life of mostly solitude because that's what a writer does, he sacrifices all of his time to dedicate to writing the best possible work he can with no compromises," he explained.  
"So that means you don't make any friends along the way?"  
"I have friends...just not many of them," he replied.

I shook my head.

"There was a term you told me about...a _muse_ is it?" I asked.

He rolled his eyes.

"I know what you're getting at Lily...forget it," he snapped.

Despite his icy tone, I knew a lot better than to let him dismiss me because he really would continue to live his life the same way he's been doing it since he came to UOA last year. There was no denying that he always got his work done effectively and he was by no means an unhealthy person with his active swimming, parkour and Kendo training but as far as his emotions go...he was about as healthy as a rotten tomato.

He always buried his emotions beneath his blank facial expression and Flora and I were the only two capable of telling exactly how he felt; Carrie didn't develop that ability yet. Right now...I could see how lonely he truly felt. There was only so much I could do as his friend and even though we've jokingly gone on lunch dates and even to the movies, it was plain for us both to see that we would never view each other as anything more.

Even in his writing which was mostly romance and fantasy, had clear indications of the longing that he felt. He spent most of his life under his parents' roof and once they both passed away, he took Flora to live with him in Florida. He however had to migrate back to Jamaica in order to settle all of the business that his parents left behind, leaving her with one of his cousins because he didn't want her to get caught up in the drama. He ended up dropping out of school in Jamaica until he applied and got accepted into UOA, which brought us to this moment one year later. He's a really talented writer...and he is in no way shape or form a bad person...he just had god awful luck whenever it came to relationships.

"At least let me introduce you to a few of my friends at the party on Saturday...I'm really sure you'll like them," I asked.

He looked at me with cold eyes but I knew that it was only a matter of time before he agreed; he almost never said no to me for anything. After letting out a deep sigh, I smiled at my victory.

"...Just don't expect me to be warm to them," he said folding his arms.

I cheered softly but his eyes focused on mine, scanning them until a small smirk appeared on his face.

"You met someone," he said.

_"Goddamn it...he knows me so well he can tell from just a glance at me..."_

"Who is he?"  
"Well...it kind of went like this..."

* * *

_**Earlier That Morning- Outside The Cafeteria**_

_"I'll see you two in the lounge," I said._

_Vanna nodded as she ran off to get to her class. I sighed deeply at the tremendous amount of work I had to do before the weekend started._

**"It's gonna be murder to do all this stuff...but that's medical school for ya..."**

_I didn't even realize I was still walking until I collided with something. I fell to the ground, dropping my bag and spilling its contents all over the floor._

_"Oh shit...terribly sorry about that, I wasn't paying attention to where I was going,"_

_I looked up to see a rather well built man with snowy blonde hair. His accent was British and even though I felt as if I was the one who wasn't paying attention, he had the most concerned look on his face as he scrambled to pick up all the books. He quickly gathered them back up and held out a hand to help me up. I took it and got to my feet as he handed me back the books._

_"I'm really sorry...did I hurt you?" he asked._

_I shook my head...then I realized how handsome he looked. Though his skin was slightly pale, it was otherwise flawless with the exception of his eyes, which had bags underneath them from a clear lack of sleep. I really liked the way his hair defied gravity and the color really looked good on him because for most other men, I would be appalled at the sight of it._

_"Well...glad you didn't hurt anything, guess I'll get going then," he said with a shrug._

_He began to run off._

**"What the hell am I doing?...Why am I actually considering this?..."**

_"Wait!" I said._

_He turned back, his face now curious._

_"What's your name?" I asked.  
"Gary...and yours?"  
"Lily," I replied._

_He smiled at me._

_"That's a pretty name for an even prettier girl,"_

_I found myself blushing tremendously at his compliment._

_"Are you going to the freshmen welcoming party on Saturday?" I asked.  
"I was thinking of it yeah," he replied._

_I looked down at the ground for a moment before returning my eyes to his._

_"It...would be nice to see you there," I said._

_He once again smiled at me as he removed his phone from his pocket and handed it to me._

_"Let's continue this conversation a little then yeah?" he asked._

_I have no idea why I so thoughtlessly entered my number into the phone and handed it back to him; I would've ordinarily walked away by now but for some reason...I didn't feel scared of him. Sure he was larger than me in basically every sense of the word but...he didn't seem like the other guys I've met. I had a good feeling about him._

_"Nice to meet you Lily...I've gotta get going because I have a class at the gym," he said.  
"Sports Medicine Major?" I asked._

_He nodded._

_"That's cool...alright, well I guess I'll hear from you later," I said.  
"Maybe,"_

_His tone was silly and he cracked a goofy grin, causing me to laugh softly as he ran off._

* * *

**Present Time**

"Sounds like you're _actually_ interested in a guy for once," said Jordan.

I rolled my eyes and tried to retort but he raised his hand.

"Carrie caught a glimpse of you two...she and I already had a talk and the way you described him...that sounds like the guy I've seen running around on campus early in the mornings at times," he said.

I sighed deeply; why did he have to know everyone by description, habits or face?

"I can't dispute the fact that you're interested in him because it's _so_ rare for you to actually give **any** guy the light of day...that it's hard to know how to react," he said.

I flicked him in the forehead.

"You're making me sound like you with women," I snapped.  
"You're not like me...you're _worse_ than me,"

He let out a breath.

"I'm going to say the same thing I do with every guy that any of you three like...be _very_ careful and don't do anything that you'll regret," he warned.

His tone shifted to serious.

"I'm not assuming that he's a bad person because the way you described him to me doesn't make him sound at all like one...but always remember to _never_ judge a book by it's cover,"  
"Yeah...I know,"

He put a hand on my cheek and stroked it.

"I just want you to be happy sis...nothing more," he said.

I hugged him close to me.

"And I feel safe knowing that you're looking out for me always," I replied.  
"It's my job...what kind of best friend would I be if I didn't want to take the soul of any unlucky idiot who's dumb enough to hurt you?" he said with a smile.

I shook my head as I shoved him towards the door.

"You have class with Carrie tomorrow...are you going to talk to her about Paul?" I asked.  
"Probably...but I wouldn't worry too much about it; Paul's a very busy guy so he doesn't have a lot of time to spend with her," he said.  
"Why's that?" I asked.  
"He's a double major so he'll have as much free time as Vanna would with her batshit _insane_ Engineering and Chemistry majors..." he replied shaking his head.

I laughed loudly at his comment.

"Alright...well we'd better get some sleep," I said.

He nodded but as he got to the door, he turned back.

"Lily?"

I turned to see one of his genuine smiles.

"Thanks for looking out for me...I appreciate it," he said.

Before I could retort, he left.

* * *

**Later That Evening- The Stratus Dormitory**

"Thanks for helping me unpack,"  
_"Anytime,"_ he replied.

I let out a sigh.

"Feels a lot different than back home in Jamaica,"  
_"Well...we __**are**__ in Hawaii after all,"_.  
"For some reason, I don't feel that insatiable urge to surf,"  
_"Because you're terrified of Great White Sharks?"_

I heard him shudder on the other end of the phone.

"Don't remind me...anyway, what's on the agenda for you today?"  
_"Class and meeting up with Carrie; she's in charge of the budget for the freshmen party on Saturday and I have to help set up the bar," I replied._  
"You actually got the bartending job? Awesome!"  
_"Maybe you'll follow in my footsteps and actually work a day in your life Cody,"_

I growled loudly; he just loved to tease the hell out of me.

"How bout I just serve the drinks that people are too lazy to go get?"  
_"That's not a paying job kid...think bigger,"_

Jordan was such an annoying prick at times but I knew he was right; this was my first time out on my own and I don't really know anyone here apart from a select few. I decided to apply for UOA after I wrapped up high school this year and I managed to get in. Even though Jordan had to throw that party for Flora, he was still kind enough to help me unpack my things before the party started. Thanks to him, I got so much done today that I actually felt alright about starting classes tomorrow.

"This Chemistry lab and Math course back to back is gonna **suck**," I sighed.  
_"You're the idiot who chose the Chemistry major as well as doing six classes at once,"_

I shook my head.

"The less time I spend in school the better," I replied.  
_"If you think growing premature grey hairs is worth saving some time then I got news for you buddy..."  
_"Shut up..." I groaned.  
_"You know I'm right...I'm not saying that you can't handle it because you're by no means an idiot but you've definitely got your work cut out for you kid,"_

I sighed deeply.

"Anyway...the reason I called was to ask you something,"  
_"What's on your mind?"_  
"...Would it be an issue if I asked Flora to be my date for the party on Saturday?" I began.

I could feel the tension on the other end of the phone; Jordan was a difficult person to approach about anything concerning his precious little sister but much to my surprise, he calmly breathed.

_"I wouldn't expect a yes from her...but if there's one person I'd trust her with it's you...even though you're a knucklehead at times,"_

I smiled.

"I won't let you down bro," I said.  
_"You better not...unlike before when we were in Jamaica, I'm __**walking**__ distance away from you so there's no hiding,"_

I swallowed nervously.

"Thanks bro...appreciate the vote of confidence," I said sarcastically.  
_"Like I said kid...you know how much she means to me so don't fuck it up,"_

I hung up the phone before I began to feel the fire on my neck from the heat in his voice.

* * *

**Meanwhile- The Headmaster's Office**

Tony continued to sift through the small mountain of paperwork in front of him with Lisa beside him, going through the other half of said mountain.

"That was a really nice thing you did for Jordan back there," she said.  
"He's been a good friend to me; he invited me to the party and he's overall been a really swell guy, allowing him to throw a party for his little sister was the least I could do," he replied.

Lisa smiled at him.

"If I didn't know any better, I'd say you're getting soft," she teased.

Knowing full well how his assistant loved to try and tease him, Tony turned to her with a confident smirk.

"You're the one who brings out that side of me," he whispered.

Lisa felt her cheeks heat up tremendously upon noticing the gaze he was giving her.

"I'm really glad you agreed to breakfast this morning...it was really nice," he said.

Lisa quickly regained her composure as she smiled back at him.

"Who in their right mind would say no to free food?" she teased.

Tony chuckled loudly. He turned back for a moment before facing her once more, this time...with a pocky stick in his mouth.

"Remember the bet we had this morning? If I got you to blush, you'd do the game with me," he said.

Lisa cursed under her breath; she couldn't deny that she blushed because he saw it...and she _definitely_ felt it. Sighing deeply, she took the other end of the stick into her mouth as the two of them slowly began to chew at it until finally, their lips met.

Tony was sure that Lisa would move away immediately from embarrassment but he couldn't resist the opportunity. Once she reached his lips, he captured hers in a soft kiss. Much to his surprise however...she kissed back. Several heated seconds later, she moved away from him. Both blushed furiously at gesture they just did and a short pause followed, both staring at each other as if the rest of the room were irrelevant.

"...Be my date for the party on Saturday?" asked Tony.

Lisa smiled at him and nodded.

"I'd love to go,"

* * *

**Meanwhile- Gary's Room**

_"You lucky bastard! Do you know who Lily is?!"_  
"...A girl?" I replied rolling my eyes.  
_"Not just ANY girl Gary...she's known as the angel of the medical school...she's probably the absolute most sought after girl in the entire medical program,"_  
"And your point is?"

I heard Kevin give himself a facepalm on the other end of the phone.

_"You're gonna have a lot of competition for her...and don't you know that her and Jordan are close?"_  
"Jordan Chen? Isn't he the older brother of that girl whose party we walked through this afternoon on the way to Physics?" I asked.  
_"The same one...everyone thinks they're together because they're seen everywhere together,"_  
"That competition shit's not gonna phase me none...though I didn't know she and Jordan were that close," I replied.  
_"He's really protective of her too...so if you're gonna try anything, I suggest you befriend him first,"  
_"Since when did you become an expert on talking to girls?" I asked rolling my eyes.  
_"Since I saw the last guy that hurt Lily...let's just say Jordan made sure he got really friendly with the pavement and his Kendo stick,"_

I shook my head.

"I seriously doubt he can do that to me...besides, I'm not much of a fighter if I can avoid it," I said.  
_"Just take it nice and slow bro...that's all I'm saying,"_

I adjusted my watch to go off at 5 AM as I put on my shirt to go to sleep.

"No girls in your sights then?" I asked.  
_"Not so far...seen a lot around the place but haven't quite had my eye on someone in particular,"_  
"Maybe the freshman party on Saturday can give you some more options then yeah?"  
_"I hope so...though I can't really look at the freshman year being a third year medical student and all,"_  
"Yeah...don't really think I want to be friends with a guy dating a girl six years younger than him; it's a bit strange really..." I said.

Kevin scoffed loudly.

_"Whatever dude...anyway, I got an early morning Biology Lab...need some sleep,"_  
"See you for lunch then," I replied.

The phone cut off as I looked up towards the ceiling.

_"Goddess Of The Medical School huh? Interesting title,"_

* * *

**Meanwhile- The Du Couteau Dormitory, Second Floor**

_"FINALLY! Got everything unpacked...now come the long boring days of class till 5 PM..."_

I sighed loudly as I felt a finger against my cheek.

"Sounds like you're not expecting to have any sort of fun with this thing at all,"  
"You kidding me Belle? Why the hell would I look forward to getting up at 7 AM everyday..." I sighed.

She gave me a one armed hug.

"Well, I'm not one to talk; I'm in the medical program plus I'm minoring in Celtic and Irish Studies," she said.  
"...How do you wake up to do it all?" I asked in awe.  
"Discipline, determination...and loads of coffee," she replied.

I laughed softly.

"A Fashion major's no joke either...I've seen the designs you've drawn up and they look pretty nice," said Belle.  
"Thanks...that means a lot to me," I replied.

Annabelle Rose, or Belle as I liked to call her is a student hailing all the way from Ireland. I spent the day with her getting our room together once I found her in here attempting to unpack everything. We quickly became friends over our common interest in art...though it really made me wonder why she just didn't do Photography instead of Medicine; her photos were beautiful.

Then add the fact that she was by no means an average looking girl; she was incredibly beautiful with medium length, dark brown hair. Her skin was a little pale, no doubt due to the tremendous amount of time she had to spend indoors as a medical student but despite that, she was definitely a looker. She had braces as well but those would come off pretty soon according to her.

"So...you gonna come to the freshman party on Saturday?" she asked.

I scratched the back of my head.

"I dunno...parties aren't really my kind of thing, at least when they're not in clubs," I replied.  
"Come on Jocelyn...even _I'm_ going and parties bore the shit out of me," she groaned.

I put a hand to my chin.

"Come on...at the very least you can meet people other than me on campus so you won't feel completely lost when you're walking around the place," she said.

I sighed deeply and shrugged.

"Alright, I guess I'll give it a shot but no promises on enjoying myself," I replied.

Belle smiled at me as she turned her back to me.

"It's 2 AM...if we don't go to sleep now, we're gonna wake up feeling like trains had their way with us...night," she said.

After dousing the lights, I looked up at the ceiling.

_"Maybe this place will be nice after all..."_


	3. The Freshman After Party

**(A/N): Chapter 2!**

**This chapter ended up turning into a really massive amount of content and because of my principle of not letting a chapter exceed more than a certain amount, I decided to summarize it as best I could. This was originally 25,000 words and it was extremely difficult to cram all of it into this. Sorry for the wait everyone.**

**Thanks to everyone who answered my questions; wouldn't have been able to finish this without those answers.**

* * *

**Chapter 2: The Freshman After Party**

* * *

**Saturday Morning- Flora, Vanna, Sharon and Raina's Room**

"I can't believe that whole week flew by so quickly," said Vanna.

I sighed deeply as I shoved my face back into the pillow.

"I had to write two papers in the first five days of the semester...this is torture _already_..." sighed Raina.  
"At least you were fine in class; I missed the first two days because of stupid flight delays,"

I turned to see a frown on Sharon's face. She was the fourth member of our little circle and I couldn't be more thankful that the four of us managed to get a single dorm together. I didn't want us to be separated; life was hard enough with all this work and it would suck even more if we lived in different dorms which were all a minimum of 20 minutes to a maximum of 40 minutes apart from each other if we walked.

"So did you answer that guy who asked you to the party Flora?" asked Raina.

I sighed and lifted my head from the pillow.

"He seems really sweet...so I said sure," I replied.  
"I'm amazed; you're usually a vegetable when it comes to guys," said Vanna raising an eyebrow.  
"He's a really good friend of my brother and he would let him ask me out unless he had some kind of trust in him," I replied.

Raina snickered.

"Your brother is so protective...to the point where I think he's one of the reasons guys don't come near you; they don't want to feel his wrath," she said.

I swallowed hard.

"It doesn't help that he's good at parkour, trained for nine years in martial arts and doesn't take anything sitting down when it comes to our family...but he's harmless," I said.  
"If only the guys in question knew that," said Sharon rolling her eyes.

My phone suddenly went off. I looked at the caller ID.

_"Cody Moodie..."_

I rose from my bed and took the phone into the living room, leaving the girls in the bedroom.

"Hey what's up?"  
_"Sorry if I woke you up..."_

I laughed softly; he was so nervous that it was obvious in his tone.

"It's alright...what's up?"  
_"I was just wondering if...you were up for dinner with me at the cafeteria before we go to the party? Jordan has to go setup the bar because he's the one in charge of drinks tonight...so I don't really have anyone to eat with,"_ he explained.

I smiled; even though I knew Cody for a few years thanks to Jordan, he was actually a really sweet person...underneath how much of a knucklehead he could be at times.

I ended up meeting Cody when Jordan threw a party for my birthday four years ago when I last saw him before this week...and Cody was really nice to me. Sure his jokes were really corny at times and downright unnecessary in others but despite how excessively hard he tries...he really meant well. He actually made the effort to keep in contact and even though I would ordinarily ignore guys because well...I'm a pickle when it comes to them, I didn't do that to him.

At times, he was genuinely funny and he the one thing he didn't do was lie about anything. He was always real and was never afraid to speak his mind, even if my brother would whack him in the head for doing it. He wasn't half bad looking either; he's half Jamaican, half Chinese or what Jordan calls "Jamanese" for short and was surprisingly very tall for his age, standing almost an inch above Jordan's 5'8" at the age of 18.

He had spiky black hair and he appeared a lot more Chinese than Jamaican considering he inherited the eyes and skin tone. He however did have a Jamaican accent...though not as pronounced as others that I've heard. He wasn't really one to work out much but he somehow kept himself slim, probably due to the fact that he has an ridiculous metabolism that burned through just about everything he ate; he eats just as much, if not more than Jordan and **THAT** was an accomplishment in itself.

"Sure, meet you in there at 5 then?" I asked.  
_"I can come get you,"_

I felt a very slight blush come to my cheeks.

"Ok...I'll be waiting," I said.  
_"Great...I'll see you in a while then,"_

* * *

**Meanwhile- Jocelyn and Annabelle's Room**

"Did you get the job at the library?" I asked.

Jocelyn shook her head.

"I'm in the bookstore for now...you wouldn't believe how nice it is in there," she replied.  
"How so?"  
"It's practically a full sized Barnes And Noble, complete with Starbucks and a gift shop," she explained.

I laughed softly.

"I guess you had fun yesterday...considering you came in at like 2 AM," I said raising an eyebrow.  
"Just decided to stay in the library and finish everything so I could go to the party tonight with a clean conscience," she replied.

I nodded.

"Think you're gonna meet any cute guys there?" I asked.

Jocelyn shrugged.

"I'm not really looking; school's a bit more important right now," she replied.

I rolled my eyes.

"Come on...you're a damn good student to do all of that work in a single day and you don't really do much else apart from go to class and sit in here drawing fashion designs," I said.  
"And I stream on Twitch...hence the big ass computer at my desk," she retorted.

I shook my head.

"Well...at least you aren't laying out food all day in the cafeteria...that shit gets boring really quickly," I sighed.  
"Didn't get the job to look out for the plants outside our building?" she asked.

I shook my head.

"They've got enough people doing it already...so I guess I'm stuck with this until I find something better or get a car to do off campus work," I replied.

Jocelyn nodded as she continued to scribble on her sketch pad.

"We should go with an open mind because the real party doesn't begin until after the official one...we're going to the student lounge over by Du Couteau to do it," I explained.  
"You mean the one that already has a bar counter and has enough space to fit like forty people on a dance floor?" she asked.  
"The very same," I replied with a wink.  
"Aren't guys not allowed inside of that dorm?" asked Jocelyn.  
"If it's for a party, so long as they aren't reported by the Resident Assistant, they're fine," I replied.

Jocelyn snickered softly.

"So that's why you got so friendly with Alison," she said.

I nodded with a smile.

"It pays to know people well and now, she won't say a thing...although to be honest, I doubt anything will happen considering it's gonna be mostly freshmen there," I said.  
"Aren't the DJ, bartender and host like Junior year or something?" she asked.  
"I know who the DJ is, really nice Jamaican guy named Ajani Richards and he's really big on EDM and Trance," I said.

I put a hand to my chin.

"The host of this thing is some guy named Andrew Chau but I heard that he's only gonna be there to get things started and leave; he has a lot of shit to take care of considering he's basically the one who plans all of the freshman events," I said.  
"He's the one who's in charge of that gaming tournament and the Bingo event on Sunday?" asked Jocelyn.

I nodded.

"Brave guy..." she said with an unsympathetic laugh.  
"I don't know anything about the bartender apart from the fact that he lives in Stratus by himself," I said.

Jocelyn shrugged.

"Let's hope he's not one of those assholes who spike every single drink to get some," she said.  
"Ditto...though I doubt there are many people like that here; most of the students here are pretty good people,"

She nodded in agreement and let out a sigh.

"So...what should I wear?"

We broke into a fit of laughter upon realizing that we both asked the same question simultaneously.

* * *

**Meanwhile- The Du Couteau Student's Lounge**

"Everything's all set?"

Jordan nodded.

"The only things we're missing are the Triple Sec supply and the rest of the cocktail mix which Carrie is bringing right now," he replied.

I smiled and breathed a sigh of relief as I turned to Ajani.

"How bout the music?" I asked.

Ajani raised a thumb.

"The lights actually work really well; tested them out last night in the darkness and it's really got a club feel to it," he replied.

I smiled again as I checked my phone; 2 PM was my next appointment where I had to sort out all of the prizes for the Bingo event tomorrow.

"I hate to ask you guys but can you two handle things here? I gotta run," I said.  
"No problem Andrew, get going," said Ajani.

I nodded to Ajani and sprinted off.

**~ o ~**

I looked to Jordan who was ensuring that his station was set up the way he wanted it. I happened to be a part of a lot of the parties that he went to bartend and he was actually quite skilled at it. We became friends over our work; I was called upon to DJ a lot of these parties due to my varied musical tastes. Even though I knew I was putting myself a little behind in my work, I was pretty good at working under pressure so it didn't bother me too much.

"So tell me someting...why yu always suh quiet at di party dem?"

Jordan smiled at me.

"Mi nuh really like di setting...mi nuh really dance too tuff," he replied.

I felt pretty good that I was able to speak to him like this; he was the only other Jamaican I was aware of that attended this school apart from his friend Cody but considering how booked that kid was with his classes, it was basically pointless to try and befriend him. It felt strange only being able to speak only proper English but with him, I could speak using the language I was raised on.

"So yu mean fi tell mi say dat none a di gyal dem mek yu wa try?" I asked.

Jordan shook his head, still smiling as he placed a large bottle of tequila on the counter.

"It nuh really matta to me still...mi usually spen mi time a di bar or di grill when mi go a party," he replied.  
"Why?"  
"Guess is cause a di way mi did grow...was neva really di party kine a yute..." he replied.  
"Yet yu mix all a di drinks dem fi everybody," I said rolling my eyes.

He chuckled.

"It's fun," he said with a shrug.

He then placed the tequila bottle into his well and wiped the counter to a shiny finish with a cloth.

"Guess we're about ready to go for tonight," he said.  
"Look mi boss...mi undastan say yu care bout yu academics an ting but mi tyad a see yu walk di campus like some kine a vampire..." I said.

I didn't realize how irritated my tone was, almost as if I was scolding him.

"Try an see if yu can do a ting nuh? I mean nuff gyal a come a dis ting yu nuh," I said

He let out a sigh.

"Alright fine...I'll keep an open mind," he said, his tone now shifting to serious.

I gave him a brotherly hug.

"I just want you to be happy...you get me?" I asked.

He nodded as we approached the door.

"This should be a fun night," he said.

* * *

**Later That Night**

"I'd like to thank everyone for coming to the Freshman Welcoming Party and then coming to this after party, courtesy of your Student Council representative, Andrew Chau who unfortunately cannot be here due to time constraints,"

Everyone broke out into a round of applause.

"Now that we're full to capacity here, I'll hand it over to our own resident DJ, Ajani Richards! Give him some love!"

Tony stepped away from the microphone as the lights focused on Ajani, who was already by the turntable.

"Thank you Headmaster! Now let's get this party started!"

An intense ambiance of EDM followed his words as the room burst into dance. I glanced around, glad that we chose this lounge because any other would've been too small. Rather than the projected forty people coming to this party, a whopping 57 people came into the room to enjoy themselves and I breathed a sigh of relief that I asked Jordan to get an excess of alcohol and mixer.

"Carrie!"

I turned to see Lily and Flora.

_"Whoa..."_

As usual, Lily never failed to impress with how well she carried herself. She was clad in a frilly red dress that really suited her figure and surprisingly, didn't reveal too much of her body. Her usual beautiful face now had red lipstick and a very small amount of foundation to keep her skin at a slightly less pale tone. Her long reddish brown hair was let out completely, reaching almost half way down her back. She wore a very small amount of makeup, only adding a little eyeliners due to her smaller than average eyelashes. All in all, Lily continued to wear her infamous title of Goddess Of The Medical School with no one even coming close to reaching her level.

What surprised me more however was that Flora _actually_ came to a party; I had never seen any sort of indication that she would be interested in coming to something like this. At the same time however...her brother _is _standing at the bar counter in the corner of the room so she would be watched over between Lily, him and I. Unlike Lily, she chose to go the casual route, sporting dark blue jeans and a long sleeved sweater that was just a little too large for her neck, leaving a little of her collarbone exposed. I couldn't believe how much Flora had grown since I last saw her; she was almost as tall as Jordan and her hair grew much longer, going from shoulder length all the was to about midway down her back. She really grew into a beautiful woman and I could really see why Jordan was so proud of her.

"You two look really good tonight," I said with a wink.

**~ o ~**

I was in awe at how Carrie looked; she wore light blue jeans which were stylishly torn in certain areas and a sleeveless black turtleneck top. What undoubtedly drew my attention to her was just how pristine her dark brown hair, highlighted with a shade more akin to caramel looked. Then there was her signature smile which was so contagious that she could light up a whole room by just doing it once. Carrie was really big on dancing and because of it, she had an absolutely rockin' figure that many would struggle to achieve and to wrap it all up, she was such an amazing person.

She and Lily were the first two female friends Jordan made since our parents passed away. While I was Jordan's actual sister, I still looked up to Lily and her as if they were my older sisters...and they took very good care of me whenever Jordan wasn't around to do so himself. She always kept an eye out for me...and I felt safe with her around, especially since I was probably going to end up drinking tonight and...well, I wasn't exactly the smartest drunk.

"Speak for yourself," said Lily with a wolf whistle.

Carrie childishly stuck her tongue out at her.

"I thought you guys came with dates?" asked Carrie.  
"Well...Gary isn't here yet," replied Lily.  
"Cody went to get us drinks," I said.

Carrie nodded slowly as she then turned to the bar and smiled.

"Look at Mr. Bartender over there,"

I turned to see my big brother happily making drinks for a trio of girls who cheered at his fancy tricks. He looked really handsome in his uniform, which was comprised of a long sleeved black button up shirt with a white t-shirt underneath to keep warm; he was anemic after all. He tended to wear baggy jeans on a regular day but this time, he chose his stonewashed black denim jeans which weren't baggy but not skinny like a lot of the other men at the party. He got a haircut at some point during the day, choosing a slightly elevated buzzcut and he even shaved off all of his facial hair, leaving just a little of his mustache. Much to my surprise, he was wearing the dragon necklace that I bought him for his birthday two years ago and it was almost in mint condition.

He took really good care of himself and even though he wasn't an athlete...he managed to keep a really slim build that had just enough muscle to show that he was relatively active. I don't know where he found time between his writing and classes to keep up with parkour...but he somehow did it and it really worked.

"Where's Vanna?" asked Lily.  
"She's over there with Andre," I replied pointing to the the left side of the room.

Carrie smiled evilly.

"You thinking what I'm thinking Lily?" she snickered.

Lily was quiet for a moment until her eyes widened and she imitated the smile.

"Time to be a loving older sister," she said.

They then walked off in separate directions, Lily heading towards the bar and Carrie towards Vanna.

_"What're they doing...why do I get the feeling this isn't gonna end well?"_

"Here you go ladies,"

Jordan placed three Cosmopolitans on the counter as the three girls took them. One of them dropped a fifteen dollar tip in his jar as he took the rest of the money to pay for the drinks. After handing them their change, he quickly set to work on clearing the counter.

_"Such a hard worker..."_

"Make me something sweet,"

He looked up to see me and rolled his eyes.

"You know you can't handle your alcohol well Lily," he said.  
"Which is why you're not putting much in it...make me a Banana Daiquiri," I said.

He shrugged as he began to fill the order. He sliced both ends of a banana off before slitting it right down the middle, allowing him to peel off the skin with no issues. He then chopped the banana into easy to blend pieces and threw them into the blender along with a cup of ice. He then flipped a rum bottle from below the counter into the air. He proceeded to hit the bottom of it with his elbow, causing it to rotate once in the air before he caught it by the neck and began to pour it into the blender. Once he was satisfied with the amount, he replaced it before adding cocktail mix to the blender and putting it to slow speed.

"You spent a lot of time practicing those moves didn't you?" I asked.  
"Practice makes perfect," he replied.

After a few seconds, he stopped the blender and poured the contents into a glass. He then picked up one of the ends of the banana and stuck it on the side of the glass like a garnish.

"I went easy on the rum so hopefully...you won't turn into a tomato and start whacking people," he said.

I smiled and took a sip, absolutely delighted at how it tasted.

"Wow...so tell me why you aren't at Hard Rock or something?" I teased.  
"Too big for me; I'm content with these small parties," he said with a chuckle.

I felt my phone vibrate and I glanced down at it to see a text from Carrie.

_"Vanna's on board with the plan...all we need now is a target,"_

I quickly typed a message back.

_"Waiting for one to catch his eye,"_

"Excuse me,"

I turned to see a rather beautiful woman. She was clearly of Chinese descent and she wore a really nice crimson skirt alone with an adorable floral top, mostly black in color but the flowers gave a nice variety of colors to look at. She had long brownish hair, just a few shades shy of caramel and a really pretty face. I took a glance at Jordan to see that he was smiling at her but thanks to my experience with reading his eyes, I could tell that he was a little nervous.

"What can I get you?" he asked.  
"White Russian, Kahlua and more milk," she replied.  
"Go hard or go soft?" he asked.

She put a hand to her chin for a moment before smiling.

"Soft this time," she replied.

He nodded as he skillfully brought a tin from behind the counter, spinning it in his hand almost effortlessly as he placed it on the counter. He then picked up a glass, filled it with ice and began to add the ingredients. He put vodka and Kahlua, noticeably less than usual, into the glass until he was satisfied. He then poured milk over the top of it all until the glass was full. He then threw the tin into the air and caught it with the opposite hand as he poured the glass's contents into it. He attached the top of the tin and shook it vigorously for a few seconds. He then poured the contents back into the glass and placed a straw into the glass.

"Here you go," he said.

She took the drink from him and took a sip before smiling brightly.

"Delicious...best White Russian I've ever had," she said with a smile.  
"Glad you like it," he replied.

She then handed him a credit card as well as her ID. He eyed it for a moment before nodding.

"Alright no problem Jocelyn," he said with a smile.

He took the credit card from her and placed it in his pocket before handing her ID back to her.

"Jocelyn! You ran over to the bar already! Crazy girl,"

I turned to see another beautiful woman. Her dark brown hair was neck length and she had red lipstick along with a little blush. She wore a full black outfit, the top being long sleeved and revealing a generous amount of her collarbone while the bottom was a short skirt, which showed off her curves and figure. She looked at Jordan for a moment and her eyes widened for a split second.

"What? I wanted a drink," said the Chinese woman.

The other woman rolled her eyes as she looked at Jordan.

"Bailey's on the rocks," she said.  
"You got it,"

Jordan quickly filled a glass with ice and tossed a bottle of Bailey's Irish Cream into the air. Much to my amazement, he caught it by the neck with his left hand before unscrewing the top and pouring it into the glass. The woman seemed really impressed with his stunt as he pushed the glass over to her after dropping a straw in it.

"Put it on her tab?" she asked.

He nodded as he scribbled something onto a piece of paper.

"What's your name handsome?" she asked.  
"Jordan Chen...and you are?" he asked.  
"Annabelle Rose, you can call me Belle," she said.

The Chinese woman turned to face him, giving herself a light facepalm.

"I'm sorry...where are my manners, my name is Jocelyn Ho," she said holding out a hand.

Jordan shook it with a smile.

"Nice to meet you two!" he said politely.

The song shifted to a more upbeat one and Jordan smiled.

"Ajani's got such good taste in music...god I love me some Trance," he said.

Belle seemed to notice my presence and laughed nervously.

"I'm sorry, I didn't notice you there, and your name is?" she asked.  
"Lily Nguyen," I replied.

Jocelyn repeated the same gesture as Belle finished her drink.

"Refill?" he asked.  
"You gonna charge me for it?"

He chuckled.

"It's bottomless," he said with a shrug.

She handed the glass back to him and he quickly refilled it.

"You two are enjoying yourselves I hope," he said.  
"Absolutely; love the music the DJ's rolling with," said Belle.  
"Ajani? Yeah he's got good taste in music," said Jordan.  
"You know him?" asked Jocelyn.  
"He's Jamaican like I am...well, I'm half, he's a bit more than I am," he replied.  
"But...his accent is British in a way," questioned Belle.

Jordan shrugged.

"He spent some time in England so I guess he picked it up from there," he said.

I noticed the glances that Jordan kept giving Jocelyn but he also shifted to Belle every now and again.

_"Poor Jordan...his heart's probably trying to break out of jail and escape his chest,"_

He then picked up a glass and filled it with water before chugging it down. Belle finished her drink and looked at Jordan with a smile.

"You're not half bad...maybe I'll come back a little later," she said.  
"It's what I'm here for," he replied with a solemn nod.

With a smile of her own, she moved back to the floor.

"Well...better go dance this off," said Jocelyn as she handed Jordan her empty glass.  
"By dance, you mean head bob don't you?" teased Jordan.

She looked at him and he shrugged.

"You don't strike me as the kind of girl to dance readily," he said honestly.

Jocelyn laughed softly.

"I guess I'm not but the music's really nice so I figured I'd get closer to it," she explained.

Jordan nodded.

"If you need more drinks, you know where to find me," he offered.

Jocelyn smiled at him.

"I'll be sure to come back," she said with a wink.

Jordan smiled as the two women made their way back to the floor. I raised an eyebrow at the smirk on his face.

"What?" he asked with a nervous laugh.  
"If I didn't know better, I'd say you were flustered," I teased.

He shrugged.

"Dunno what you're talking about," he said as he wiped the counter clean.

"Flora! Sorry I took so long, kinda got lost in the crowd trying to find you,"

I shook my head and accepted the drink from Cody.

"Don't worry, it's just a Shirley Temple; I know how low of a tolerance you have for alcohol," he said.

I sighed in relief and happily finished it.

"How's my brother?" I asked.  
"He seems to be enjoying himself," he replied.

I looked at his drink and noticed the brownish, almost milky color.

"What...is that?" I asked.  
"Dunno, I asked him for something with vodka and make it sweet," he replied with a shrug.  
"Can I taste it?" I asked.

Cody seemed very reluctant...but he finally gave in and handed me the glass. I took a sip and I was at first appalled at the slightly bitter taste of vodka but then the coffee flavor as well as what seemed like a little chocolate crept into my taste buds.

"Wow...this is really good," I said.  
"And you're not having anymore,"

He quickly snatched the glass from me, causing me to pout.

"I don't want you getting all crazy; Jordan told me what happened the first time you had a drink," he said.

I didn't blame him; I was a very hyperactive kind of drunk who did things without thinking twice. Considering my tolerance is so low, a glass like this would be more than enough to put me in a happy place.

"Fine...I'll just have him make me something a bit later," I said.

Cody shrugged and quickly finished the drink before looking towards the floor.

"So...you wanna pretend to like the music and bob heads against the wall?" he asked.

I laughed softly as he nervously held out a hand.

"I know you'd rather be with your friends right now...I'm sorry if I pulled you away from them," he said.

I shook my head.

"We haven't seen each other in a while...I haven't forgotten what we used to do when we were kids," I said smiling at him.

Cody nervously scratched the back of his head.

"You were pretty mean when we were younger," he said with a sigh.  
"And you weren't? Mr. I-Hate-Everyone-In-Existence?" I retorted.

Cody shrugged.

"Jamaica was a pretty shitty place to grow up in; no one was really nerdy or anything so it was difficult to make friends," he explained.

I nodded in agreement; that was something Jordan always complained about as well.

"I have a better idea," I said.

I looked to the dance floor.

"Why don't we dance?"

* * *

**One Hour Later**

"Gimme another shot of tequila Jordie," said Carrie.

I snickered at how red her face was as Jordan once again poured her a shot.

"Don't go too hard Carrie...you actually have to get up in the morning to do your assignment with me," he said in a sing song voice.

Carrie turned to me.

"Lily! Tell your little goody two shoes of a brother to loosen up and have some fun!" she said.

Her tone sounded shaky; she was really beginning to be affected by the alcohol she has consumed thus far.

"I can't leave the bar until my shift is over," he replied.

I smiled as I looked down at my phone to check if Vanna replied to me. Still nothing...

"Jordan?"

I turned to see that Jocelyn returned for a third time.

"Can I just have a bottled water? I'm about at my limit," she said.

Her face was red and her eyes were quite dilated, indicating that she indeed was getting to that point. He quickly picked up a bottled water from the cooler at his feet and handed it to her.

"You sure you're alright?" he asked.

Jocelyn nodded.

"Want me to close out the tab?" he asked.

Jocelyn nodded as he removed her credit card and showed her the drink total.

"The machine's not up...can you pay with cash?" he asked.

She nodded once more and he sighed in relief. He handed her the change, which to my calculations was actually more than she was supposed to get. She looked at him questioningly.

"It's the first party of the semester, I won't tell anyone that you got more than one refill," he said with a chuckle.

She smiled gratefully at him as she dropped a twenty dollar bill in his now half full tip jar before returning to the dance floor. I immediately looked to my phone.

_"He likes the Chinese girl, everyone get in position,"_

Carrie noticed her phone go off and looked at me for a moment. I gave her a subtle nod, away from Jordan's watchful eyes as she rose to her feet. A few minutes later, the audible sound of Vanna shouting in surprise barely managed to break through the intense music. It wasn't long until she came running.

"Jordan...I accidentally spilled my drink all over the floor...could I get another one?" she asked.  
"Lemme clean up the mess and I'll get it for you," he replied with a smile.

He quickly put on some rubber gloves and threw a cloth over his shoulder. He then picked up a small broom and shovel and made his way over to the "accident spot". I turned to Carrie.

"Work your magic," I said with a wink.

She snickered softly as she followed him over to the spot.

**~ o ~**

It was pretty random that the girl in front of me just dropped the glass; maybe she had a bit too much?

"Jocelyn! Why aren't you dancing!"

I rolled my eyes and turned to Belle, who was still enjoying herself despite the accident that just happened.

"I...don't really dance," I replied.

Belle rolled her eyes.

"Loosen up! Come on!" she urged.

I shook my head and turned back to see that Jordan had come to clean up the mess. He efficiently cleaned up all of the glass with the shovel and broom before wiping up the liquid. In almost no time, the floor appeared as good as new. He then emptied all of the glass into the bin behind him and removed the gloves and such, leaving it beside the bin. I approached the bin to get off of the floor but much to my surprise, I felt someone bump me from behind. I stumbled until I felt a leg get in my path and I lost my balance.

_"SHIT!"_

The fall however never came and instead, Jordan had somehow appeared in front of me and caught me with an arm, looking at me with deep concern.

"You feeling alright?" he asked.

I didn't realize how much I needed warmth near me until he held me; the room felt like a freezer especially now that I just guzzled down the whole bottle of water.

"I...I guess I just want to get off the floor," I replied.

He glanced at his watch and looked to the counter for a moment.

"Let's get you outside to get some fresh air," he said.

He helped me onto both my feet, holding my hand as he guided me out the door. He brought us both to a bench and he gently eased me into it.

"Look at me straight?" he asked.

I did as he asked but for some reason...it felt weird to meet his eyes and I involuntarily felt myself begin to blush.

"You really had a lot tonight...probably should've stopped after about the fifth drink," he said with a chuckle.  
"I don't do it very often so might as well live it up right?" I replied.

He smiled and sat on the bench with me.

"I guess that's good logic; might as well have fun while you can," he said looking up at the sky.

I looked around the area, realizing that it was just the two of us out here.

"So...what's your major?" I asked.  
"Creative Writing, I'm also minoring in Mixology," he replied.  
"That explains why you're bartending," I said with a smile.

He shrugged.

"I just like doing it; it's fun," he replied.

A short pause followed as he turned to me.

"How about you?" he asked.  
"Fashion Major for me," I replied.

He nodded.

"That explains your good taste in clothing," he said.

I blushed again as he chuckled softly.

"Is that a compliment?" I asked with a stern look on my face.  
"Would you rather me say that you look beautiful?" he replied.

His face was suddenly sincere and honest, shifting so quickly from silly and easy going. I slowly allowed myself to smile.

"Thank you...I appreciate that," I said.  
"You're welcome Jocelyn," he replied.

I shook my head.

"Call me Lyn," I said.

His eyes widened for a moment but he once again smiled.

"Lyn it is,"

* * *

**A Few Minutes Later**

_"Mission accomplished,"_

I smiled at the message from Carrie as I continued to sip the daiquiri that Jordan made for me before he left to go outside.

"Sorry I'm late...had to take care of something,"

That British accent immediately grabbed my attention as I turned to see Gary. He was dressed a pair of baggy black jeans and a black muscle shirt which really showed off how much time he's been putting into his body. He was by no means a bodybuilder but he was definitely toned and well built. His hair was now a little gelled, left to flare out which made it appear almost spiky. Even though I couldn't deny that he looked really nice this evening...I felt rage build within me.

"You're really late," I said.

I didn't realize how icy my tone sounded...and I couldn't understand why it was icy to begin with.

"I'm here aren't I?"

I rolled my eyes.

"You were supposed to be here an hour ago and you didn't tell me anything...it's like you took my number for no reason,"

My tone almost sounded as if I were..._scolding_ him.

"I left my phone in my room by mistake...sorry about that," he said.

For some reason, I was actually inclined to forgive him but...one thing I didn't respect in a man is tardiness; it makes me think he has no respect for my time and patience.

"...I'm not interested in being here anymore,"

I got up to leave but his hand grabbed mine.

"Look...I said I was sorry didn't I? I don't forsee having to take care of something on the way here that took me an hour to get around," he said.

I shook my head and wrenched my arm free.

"You should've been more thoughtful...now leave me alone,"

I left without a further word.

* * *

**Meanwhile**

"That's admirable,"  
"Being a waitress and a bartender in the past?" I asked in disbelief.  
"Give yourself more credit Lyn; you did what you had to in order to survive," he replied.

I shrugged.

"It's pretty cool though...that you do all of that for your sister," I mused.  
"Everyone thinks we're blood...we'd might as well be though," said Jordan with a shrug.  
"You aren't blood?"

He shook his head.

"Flora and I were the best of friends from an early age; when she was 6 years old, I was around already being called her big brother," he explained.

Then his eyes narrowed.

"Until her mom passed away from a really severe case of tuberculosis...then her dad kind of just disappeared," he said.  
"So you took her in?" I asked.  
"My parents and hers were really close so we did...but then my parents perished in a hurricane when I was 16," he explained.

My eyes narrowed at the revelation; I would never have known so much happened to him by just looking at him.

"It's been me and her ever since...till the day we moved to Florida," he said.  
"What happened?"  
"My parents left behind a lot of things back home in Jamaica so I ended up having to go back there until I was 20...so Flora didn't have me around for four years," he said.  
"And now you're both here at UOA, it's like a big happy reunion," I said with a smile.

His eyes narrowed as he smiled genuinely.

"I could never have done any of this without Lily, Carrie and Flora...I didn't have much going for me apart from having them in my life so I pushed on...now here I am," he said.

I put a hand on his shoulder.

"You're a good man for putting her before yourself...as if she were your own flesh and blood and that is definitely something that I respect," I said.

He looked at me for a moment before smiling.

"That means a lot to me...thank you," he said.

I heard his phone go off and once he checked it, his eyes widened.

"Oh shit..."  
"What's wrong?"  
"Gotta get back inside,"

He rose from the bench and immediately sprinted inside. I followed him inside...to see a circle of people surrounding what appeared to be an intense fight.

"Come on guys...it's supposed to be a night of fun," said Ajani.

The two men fighting didn't even notice his plight as they went at each other again but before they could, Jordan went between them and parted them with his hands.

"I get that you're both drunk and angry but I don't stand for violence; we're all friends here," he said.  
"Then tell him to back off my girl!" said the first man.  
"Fuck that! She chose to go with me!"

The larger man who had snowy blonde hair shoved Jordan aside and charged at the other one. Much to my surprise however, Jordan jumped to his feet and grabbed the blonde man around the neck with his forearm and threw him to the ground almost effortlessly. The other man tried to get at him but Jordan wrenched his arm behind his back, bringing him to his knees.

"I'm going to ask the two of you to kindly leave...and consider yourselves banned from the next three events," said Jordan.

His tone was absolutely devoid of kindness...so cold that I felt a chill go down my spine.

All of a sudden, another man came from the crowd and tried to punch Jordan for a reason I couldn't fathom. He managed to connect with it, causing Jordan to release the man he had in his grasp but he turned back to face his assailant, his eyes now just as cold as his tone was previously.

"Where do you get off banning people? You don't even know the situation," said the man.

Jordan shook his head.

"I don't give a flying fuck what the situation was; violence isn't tolerated in this school, if you're gonna fight, do it outside where you're not fucking up anyone else's time," he snapped.

The man went at him again but Jordan spun around and landed a hard roundhouse kick to his temple, knocking him out almost instantly. His mouth was bleeding but the wound didn't really seem to faze him at all. He then looked up at Ajani and asked for the microphone.

"I'm sorry everyone but this party is now over, go back to your rooms," he said.

He handed the microphone back to Ajani as he went to the bar to clean up.

* * *

**Thirty Minutes Later**

"Is Jordan okay?" I asked.

Carrie shrugged as we continued to watch him clean up the place.

"He must've been really mad...I haven't seen him that violent in a very long time," said Cody.

I nodded in agreement as I looked to see that Vanna, Raina and Sharon also remained behind, helping to put the furniture back in the right places so the room could be used the next day. For some reason, a really pretty Chinese girl stayed behind along with a woman with rather...pale skin.

"Yu aright?"

I watched as Ajani approached him.

"I'm fine...thanks," replied Jordan.

The punch he got to his face had stopped bleeding but there was a small amount of swelling near the left corner of his mouth.

"Lily will take care of it...no need to worry," he said.  
"Must be nice having a medical student for a best friend," teased Ajani.

Jordan shrugged.

"It has its perks,"

He then looked to all of us.

"Thanks for helping us put the room back together and I'm sorry for cutting the night short for all of you," he said.

I walked up to him and hugged him.

"At least that fight didn't get worse," said Carrie.  
"...You didn't tell me that you were good at fighting," said Belle.

Jordan shook his head.

"I try not to use it...oath of pacifism and all," he said.  
"Why?" asked Jocelyn.

He shook his head.

"That's a story for another day," he said.

He took out his phone to check it but didn't appear to see anything.

"Is Lily alright? I heard she stormed out while I was gone," he said.

No one answered him; I didn't even know that she left. He sighed softly.

"It must've been Gary...the blonde guy," he said.  
"She likes him?" asked Vanna.

Jordan shrugged.

"It's possible...but I guess he must've screwed something up," he replied.

He let out a deep breath as he approached the door.

"Come on, let's get back to our dorms before the security sees us outside on the grounds," he said.


	4. Emotions Running High

**(A/N): Chapter 3!**

**Took a little while because I was trying my best to condense the gigantic amount of content I had originally planned. I just managed to slice it down to a manageable portion.**

**I'm terribly sorry for the wait everyone. Have fun with this one!**

* * *

**Chapter 3: Emotions Running High**

* * *

**Sunday Morning- Flora, Vanna, Sharon and Raina's Room**

"Ugh…I can't believe how horrible my stomach feels…"

I snickered loudly as I handed Vanna another pillow to cover her ears.

"That's what you get for drinking all of that crap last night," I said.  
"Go away Flora…" she growled.

She didn't even bother to change out of her dress from the night before. Her long, dark chocolate hair was an absolute mess compared to how pristine and straight it was mere hours ago. She at least decided to wash her face off...else I couldn't imagine how much of a mess her bed would be right now.

"Did you at least have fun last night?"

She removed the pillow from her face and rolled her eyes.

"Well..."

* * *

_**The Night Before- A Few Minutes After The Fight**_

_"It's a shame that this all happened...it was a pretty fun night,"_

_I shook my head and smiled._

_"I haven't had that much fun at a party before...thanks for coming with me Andre," I said._

_He shook his head._

_"Thanks for making it a good time," he replied_

_I have no idea why he suddenly appeared in greater detail; he's been this close to me for a long time as my friend but for some reason...it was like seeing the difference between a regular TV and an HD one suddenly take effect._

_I've seen that face, those same glasses, that same straight black hair that always seemed to get in his eyes at the worst times, the same voice that I was so used to hearing that I could tell his mood from the subtle changes in tone...all of it seemed to now matter a lot more._

_Then...his eyes met mine and for some reason, my heart skipped a beat. It fluttered madly a split second afterwards...all of a sudden trying to escape my chest as if it wanted to get out of the country. He smiled at me...and for some reason I smiled back. It was unreal; I had never experienced something like this before and I couldn't think of the words to describe it. I drifted closer to him, as if he had his own source of gravity. I expected him to turn away and run...but he didn't. Instead, he began to drift even closer..._

_**VMMM VMMM!**_

_I cursed under my breath as I looked away to check my phone._

_**"Hey it's Steven, I'm arriving on Monday because I finally got my transfer in order. Can't wait to see you when I get there! Hopefully, it'll be just like old times. See ya soon Vanna!"**_

_I sighed softly as Andre moved away._

_"Guessing that's from Steven?" he asked._

_My eyes turned away and I sighed._

_"I didn't expect him to be coming here...he was supposed to be in California, not all the way in Hawaii with us..." I sighed._

_Andre shrugged._

_"I guess I'll just go; it looks like you're needed inside anyway,"_

_He gestured to the door and I turned to see Raina beckoning me inside. By the time I turned around, Andre had already taken ten steps away. I wanted to call out to him...I wanted to tell him that I really cared about him but no words would form with the air my lungs expelled. He waved without turning back as he disappeared into the night._

* * *

**Present Time**

"You...almost kissed him?" I asked.

Vanna nodded slowly.

"I didn't expect that text right then and there...it completely ruined the mood," she replied.

I put a hand on her shoulder.

"Well...at least now he knows you like him," I said.

Vanna shook her head and buried her face into the pillow.

"Why do emotions have to be so complicated?" she said.  
"Because if they were simple, hardships in life wouldn't be hard," I replied.

She growled through the pillow, clearly irritated with the truth I just told her. I laughed once more as I looked to my phone, which had gone off again.

"_Lily patched me up…I'm alright now. Hope you enjoyed the party until it came crashing down. I'll see you at lunch. Jordan."_

The phone vibrated again and I scrolled down to see a text from Cody.

"_Hey…thought I'd check on you because you did have a little bit more to drink…sorry for not stopping you and all. I had a lot of fun last night…and that's not something I say very often about a party so thanks for coming with me…maybe we can do something fun again sometime?"_

I smiled after reading the text as I answered him.

"_Super Smash Bros. with me and my roommates after lunch? I'm meeting Jordan for lunch so you can just come with me back to the room,"_

I put down my phone as I went to check on Raina and Sharon and much to my amusement, I found Raina where she was last night: passed out on the couch while Sharon was still in the lounge chair, her legs raised up on the coffee table with a blanket thrown haphazardly over her body. They didn't even bother to change out of their clothes last night.

Raina was essentially the cutest possible version of a lollita that didn't look like a doll in the face. She wore a black and white frilly dress though she did skip out on the massive amount of makeup the average lolita wears. She didn't need it at all; she was quite pretty without it and the fact that she actually ended up attracting quite a number of guys last night was testament to it. She didn't really find a guy that she liked there...apart from a few glances at some guy she said was named Anson but thanks to Sharon and Vanna, he didn't really get too far.

Sharon on the other hand chose to go the casual route like I did, sporting essentially the black version of my outfit except she chose to wear a black denim jacket with a white shirt instead of a sweater. She decided to be the "guardian" this party because at least one of us had to remain sober in order to watch out for everyone...but after we cleaned up the room, Jordan made us a round of drinks and...let's just say Sharon was an even lighter weight than I was; one Pina Colada Daiquiri with a splash of rum was more than enough to send her over the edge.

I shook my head.

"_Buncha lightweights…"_

Ironically I was no better than any of them but Cody did a really good job in stopping me from going too far with the alcohol. Then again…he probably knew that Jordan would murder him in his sleep if he _didn't_ do a good job.

I heard a knock on the door and I answered it to see two of the friends we all made last night: Katherine Leliani and Jenny Hoang.

Katherine came all the way from Austria to UOA because she met a lot of the students through a Facebook group, which was mainly how most of us stayed in touch with each other and was also the way that we all had some semblance of who everyone was even when we were unable to pin a name to the face. Katherine was a very beautiful woman...easily one of the prettiest women to have attended the party.

She had long, dark chocolate hair with really nice bangs, swept off to the side. I had no idea how she kept her hair in such good condition but it really made her stand out. Then there was the clear European features, with the lighter skin tone and really beautiful eyes. Her skin was practically pristine and even though it was a little pale, it didn't do anything to detract from how gorgeous she looked. Then...there was her body. She clearly put some time into the gym and into swimming; she was sporting a really nice figure. It wasn't as slim as what the average supermodel would be like but it was just the right amount of content to keep it even. All in all, she was absolutely beautiful and I'm glad I got to talk to her last night; she was so nice to me and she kept an extra eye out whenever Cody lost track of me.

She didn't really dress up much last night and there wasn't much of a point either; she's a Sophomore about to become a Junior and it was a Freshman party. She actually ended up coming mainly due to the fact that she was good friends with Ajani and apparently Jordan...though he never mentioned her. At the same time, she didn't really stay long; she left as soon as the fight broke out, not wanting to see the violence unfold.

"Is everyone feeling better?" asked Katherine.

I shook my head.

"I'm the only one who's really conscious right now…" I sighed.  
"They went too hard last night," said Jenny with a chuckle.

Jenny was essentially the slightly shorter, slightly paler version of me. She was quite the live wire at the party due to loving the songs that Ajani played throughout the course of the night. She however only went to the party to listen to the music as well as to hopefully meet new friends; she didn't really have too many at the school. She dressed quite similarly to me in that she went the casual route. I guess she didn't really want to draw excessive attention to herself because she's definitely what I would describe as cute. She had long brown hair and was clearly of asian descent...as was most of the people who attended this school apparently. She had braces but judging from how her teeth looked, it wouldn't be much longer until she gets them removed. All in all, a very cute girl who was probably just as young as I am, if not more.

I shrugged and allowed them inside. Katherine looked at Raina and waved a hand in front of her face, only to receive absolutely no sort of response.

"How much did they drink? I'm surprised that Jordan actually gave them that much," she said.  
"Raina had about two drinks…both of them were pretty light though but Sharon hit her limit at about three…problem is that she didn't bother to drink any water after she had them so nothing really flushed out," I explained.

Katherine laughed softly.

"You young people with your low tolerance," she teased.

I rolled my eyes as Jenny approached our fridge.

"Shall I cook us breakfast?" she asked.  
"What're you making?" I replied.  
"Since there's pancake mix and bacon…there's a chance that I may actually _not _burn down the place!" said Jenny.

I scratched my head and snatched the box of pancake mix from her.

"Maybe Katherine and I should do the cooking then…"

I then heard my phone go off and I ran to see what it was only to read a text that said:

_"You're on Pikachu spammer,"_

I rolled my eyes.

_"Cody's really starting to grow on me after all..."_

* * *

**Meanwhile- Cody's Room**

"Thanks for letting me take her dude," I said.  
_"You took good care of her so you didn't screw it up…good job kid,"_

I sighed deeply.

"I let her have more than I intended to though…"  
_"She's 18 years old now…I can't expect her to follow my every instruction down to the letter,"_

I raised an eyebrow.

"So…you're not mad?"  
_"I'm more angry that the night got ruined for everyone because of that really stupid fight,"_

I nodded in agreement.

"I guess I should've stayed at the counter...because he kind of got at the alcohol,"  
_"It was my fault; I went outside with someone and I didn't close up the station,"  
_"You couldn't have known...I mean you just went outside to talk someone; ordinarily you'd just sit at that place and not move," I said.

I shook my head; typical Jordan blaming himself for everything. I didn't have to know how much he bartended to know his level of discipline whenever it came to a job; if there was one thing that was absolute about him it was that he was a man of his word and he never tried to break the rules. Him going outside and forgetting to lock up the station was a human mistake; he isn't a robot so he can't be perfect.

I took in a breath and lightened my mood; today was about having fun, not sulking in a bad event.

"At least you met some people right? That's a far cry from how you used to be back home in Jamaica," I said.  
_"...I suppose you have a point,"_

I snickered.

"Did you get her number?" I asked.  
_"Didn't get a chance to ask her...but I found out that she's in my Literature course on Monday so I'll have plenty of chances,"_  
"Go for it bro," I cheered.

I heard him make a sound half way between a scoff and a laugh.

_"We all know my luck with women...anyway, the reason I called was to tell you that the club requests got approved,"  
_"Wait...you mean-"  
_"We now have a gaming club...we also managed to establish the parkour club as long as we can find a trainer; the funding to add the training center to the gym has been approved,"_

I couldn't help but thrust my fist into the air and cheer.

"FINALLY! Now we can actually get real practice in!"  
_"Glad you're happy with the news...now I'm gonna go,"_  
"Meeting up with the girl you met yesterday?"  
_"No; I have a lot of work to do,"_

I tried to retort but he cut me off.

_"Lily had something to do with his behavior so I'm gonna find out what exactly happened from her...I'll let you know,"_

He cut the call off before I could say another word.

* * *

**Twenty Minutes Later- Lily's Room**

A knock on my door broke my concentration.

"Who is it?"  
_"It's me Lily,"_

My eyes widened; why is Jordan here? I just saw him this morning and took care of that nasty punch he got last night. I opened the door to see a look of deep concern on his face.

"I need to talk to you about something," he said.

I allowed him inside and he took a seat on the bed opposite to mine.

"What's wrong?" I asked.  
"I need to know what you did last night to start that fight," he said.

I raised an eyebrow.

"How do you know it's me?" I asked.  
"Because Gary was involved, after you left he went and got more drinks and went into a drunken rage...which forced me to step in," he explained.

My eyes widened and my fist automatically clenched.

"You mean to tell-"  
"Lily, I'm not interested in hearing how you feel about the fight...I want to know why you did that because now, his name has spread to the entire school and he can be in danger of getting expelled,"

Jordan's tone was practically sub-zero...I couldn't even begin to imagine how angry he was inside. He had never spoken to me so coldly before...because now he was dead serious.

"He came late to the party...and you know how much I hate tardiness," I replied.  
"So you chose to get angry at him for being late? Did he tell you why he was late?" he asked.

I looked down.

"He said he left his phone in his room and he had to take care of something," I replied.  
"So...you chewed him out and left instead of giving him the benefit of the doubt?" he asked.

He shook his head.

"I understand what you think of men...believe me I do but I'm asking you nicely this time, don't get angry without cause...think about it before you react," he said.  
"But-"  
"Gary went to my station and drank an entire bottle of Jack while I was outside talking to Jocelyn...he was clearly upset or feeling guilty for being unable to come there on time and if he felt that way, I see no reason as to why he would intentionally come late," he explained.

He rose to his feet.

"Go sort this out...because I have no interest in being the one to pick up the pieces from the next time you two have a falling out,"

I tried to retort but he raised a hand.

"I love you Lily...you're the sister I never had but sometimes, I really wish you would stop being such a hardass on men; Gary may be an idiot in some regards but considering that you met him this week and he has absolutely no reason to lie to you, you should believe in him more," he said.

He turned to leave.

"And one more thing...you're going to have a hard time finding someone you're interested in if you get mad at them for something as menial as that; Gary is a Sophomore and he chose to come to a _Freshman _party just to see you, the fact that he would do that means that he actually cares about you," he said.

Before I could say anything else, he left the room.

* * *

**Three Hours Later- The Cafeteria**

"Where's Jordan?"

I looked around; it was rather unlike him to be late.

"Hey Cody! Hey Flora!"

I turned to see Katherine and Jenny, who joined us around the table.

"You guys look like you're looking for a ghost," said Katherine.  
"Well...in a manner of speaking," began Cody.

Jenny started to laugh softly.

"Is it your big brother Flora?"

I nodded slowly.

"It's really unlike him to be late...where is he?"  
"He's over there,"

I turned around to see Gary, who was pointing at the entrance to the cafeteria and true to his word, Jordan came through the door.

He turned to see Gary and gave him an icy stare.

**~ o ~**

I sighed softly and approached him despite his glare.

"Look mate...I came to apologize for what I did last night," I said.

His face didn't seem convinced at all.

"I was just really upset...you know the score when it comes to women don't you?" I asked.  
"And this woman happens to be my closest friend who you hurt last night by making a promise you couldn't keep," he snapped back.

I sighed again.

"I had to take care of something last night...it was really unexpected because I was already on my way...and I accidentally left my phone in my room so I couldn't even tell her,"  
"So you made a choice between her and whatever the hell you had to take care of..."

I growled in irritation.

"Look...what do you want me to say? That I have to choose her every time?" I asked.  
"There shouldn't even be a choice to begin with...if you make a promise, you fucking keep it or you're going to get a cold shoulder and if there's one thing about Lily that I've learned in all the years I've known her is that she doesn't take disrespect well," he replied.

He turned away.

"I empathize that things can happen...really I do because you don't seem like an asshole or an idiot...but after that stunt you pulled last night, I don't have any sort of trust in that you'll take care of her in the way that I believe she needs," he said.

Jordan looked towards what appeared to be his friends.

"I'll say right now that there's no hard feelings between us; I understand the sting of rejection and someone walking out on you...but don't do it again because now you're known around the school as a drunken dipshit,"

He walked away from me, leaving me to my thoughts.

* * *

**One Hour Later- The Library**

"Everything alright mate?"

I turned to see Gary and I rolled my eyes.

"I guess...sorry for getting so riled up last night," I said.  
"No hard feelings; both of us were running high off alcohol and feels yeah?" he said.

I smiled and shook his hand.

"I understand the way you used to feel about her Kevin...really I do...but I need this," he said.

My eyes narrowed as the memories began to rush back but rather than to dwell on it, I knew it would be better to just move on; there was no way that Lily was going to look at me like that and the fact that she already said yes to Gary about going to a **party**, which is something I've _never_ seen her attend before, he was much further ahead than I've ever been.

"Yeah...I guess the loneliness just builds up you know?" I said.  
"I know the score about that yeah...I actually feel like Jordan's much in the same way,"  
"The bartender? He's a swell guy...must've took a lot for him not to tear us both apart for starting that shit last night," I said.  
"He doesn't look very strong that's for sure...but when he grabbed me and threw me to the ground, he could've easily knocked me out with a kick...but he didn't,"  
"He knocked Jackson right the fuck out with that kick he gave him...and he could've broken my arm if he really wanted to but he didn't,"

Gary shook his head.

"Remind me not to piss that guy off...speaking of which, why is he over there by himself?"

I turned to see that Jordan was indeed sitting by himself around a coffee table with a book in front of his face. He hid most of himself using his black hoodie.

"Looks like that fight last night reawakened something...that or we pissed him off a lot more that he let on," I said.

I rose to my feet.

"Maybe I should go talk to him,"  
"Might not be necessary mate...," said Gary.

I noticed that a girl had approached him and sat opposite to him. I had seen her last night, only in a dark blue dress that stretched down slightly past her knees and with light brown contacts instead of the glasses now on her face. She wore a simple black tanktop along with some jeans and her hair was pinned up, unlike last night where it was let completely out.

She was of Puerto Rican descent, a breath of fresh air in this mostly Asian populace here at UOA. Her long dirty blonde hair was largely the same as it was last night...except now slightly wet. She also had dark brown eyes...so dark that I honestly mistook them for being straight black at certain points during the night.

"Who is that?" I asked.  
"One of his friends...Zinnia I believe?" replied Gary.

**~ o ~**

"Why are you here all by yourself?" I asked.

Jordan looked at me for a second and closed his eyes.

"I didn't feel like staying in my room this time so I came here," he replied.

I looked at him in concern as I noticed the swelling on his cheek.

"Does it hurt?"  
"Not anymore," he replied.

I let out a sigh.

"Is it because you had to fight again?" I asked.

He looked at me with narrowed eyes.

"I almost lost control of myself in front of everyone...I'm having a very hard time forgiving myself for that," he replied.  
"Or is it because Gary hurt Lily?"

I knew that he wasn't at all amused at Gary hurting her and after the story he told me, he was just as angry, if not more at Lily herself. He loved her deeply and she was probably the one person besides Flora and I who he would take a bullet for and to find out that she left a party because some asshole disappointed her must've done a lot more to his state of mind than he let on.

"That's got a lot to do with it yes," he said.

I put a hand on his.

"I know that I'm probably not as close as your sister or Lily is...but I'm here for you too okay?" I assured.

He looked at me and even though he didn't smile, his eyes indicated that he deeply appreciated my words.

"Thanks Zinnia...I appreciate it," he said.

Not wanting to make the conversation just about depressing matters, I put a smile on my face.

"So about those two girls last night at the bar," I said with a wink.

Jordan rolled his eyes.

"Carrie told me all about it...so spill it," I said.

He shook his head.

"Do you really expect me to think much of them after knowing them for less than a day?" he asked.  
"First impressions _are_ a thing you know... " I replied.

He sighed deeply and took a breath.

"I'm in no position to make any real kinds of judgement...but the two of them seem really nice," he replied.  
"Lily told me you really like the Chinese girl...Jocelyn is it?" I asked.

I could've sworn I saw a blush on his face but he sank into the chair, placing the book more in front of his face to hide himself.

"...She's interesting," he replied.

I squealed quite loudly, causing him to comically try to calm me down.

"This is why I don't tell you anything you crazy girl..." he said.  
"But it's really cute...I've never seen you get flustered over someone before," I said.

He cleared his throat.

"Like I said...I'm in no position to draw any conclusions but from what I learned about her last night...I definitely don't _dislike_ her,"

His eyes suddenly widened and he closed the book he was reading before rising to his feet.

"I'll be in my room...I don't want to be around certain company right now," he said.

I turned back to see that Lily, Katherine and Jenny were coming towards me. I turned back and much to my surprise, he disappeared.

* * *

**Later That Night**

"Thanks for keeping us company," I said.

Cody smiled at me.

"As if I'm gonna say no to some fun," he said with a laugh.  
"Yeah...I'm glad that you ended up coming here after all,"  
"Really? I was under the impression that you hated me," he said raising an eyebrow.

I shook my head.

"...Not entirely," I replied.

Cody did his own version of the Freddie Mercury victory pose.

"Well everyone's really nice at least so there's definitely no reason _not_ to hang out with all of you," he said.  
"Cody?"

He looked at me, his humorous disposition now gone and replaced with curiosity.

"Do you think Jordan's gonna be alright?" I asked.  
"What do you mean?" he replied.  
"...Lily, Zinnia and Carrie all say that he hasn't been himself," I said.

Cody shook his head.

"He kicked a guy in the head after swearing an oath of pacifism...I can't imagine that sat right in his head at all," he replied.  
"Guess emotions are running high after just one party," I sighed.

Cody laughed softly and wiped his hair from his face.

"This is the first of many considering we have the next 4 years to live and die together...so to speak," he said.

I smiled at him.

"Anyway...just give him some time; I was around for the reason why he took that oath and all he needs is some time to sort his feelings out...it doesn't help that he actually has an interest in someone else and she just saw a glimpse of his dark side," he explained.  
"He does?"  
"I know Jordan's face when he sees someone he likes...trust me, he's got a thing for at least one of the people he met that night,"

I laughed softly.

"Maybe there really is a heart underneath all that ice..." I mused.

Cody shrugged.

"Anyway...see you in class tomorrow?" he asked.  
"Yeah sure...but Cody, I want to know something," I replied.

He turned back to face me.

"What exactly did he do to make himself swear an oath?" I asked.

Cody's eyes narrowed.

"I promised him that I wouldn't tell anyone...if you're gonna hear that, you have to hear it from him," he said.

My eyes widened.

"But...he'll never tell me," I argued.  
"You're the most important person in the world to him Flora...he'll tell you when he's ready," he said.

Before I could ask another question, he left.


	5. Caution To The Wind

**(A/N): Chapter 4!**

**Following this up quickly because I feel as if I'm severely lagging behind in content right now. Here's hoping that I can get a really good chunk of this done because the romance scenes are something I'm really looking forward to writing once the time comes. Right now, let's get back to it!**

* * *

**Chapter 4: Caution To The Wind**

* * *

**One Week Later- The Main Student Lounge**

"Are you kidding me?! How the hell did you do that!"  
"Skill," I snickered.

Flora growled loudly as I won yet another match of Super Smash Bros. against her.

"I'm gonna beat you one day…I promise you that Cody," she growled.  
"You can try," I replied with a wink.

She childishly stuck her tongue out at me as I handed her a cookie from the bag in front of me.

"I brought these just before I came…they're still hot," I said.

She didn't move to pick it up; her hands were full of paint from her art class that she just finished.

"I'll go wash my hands," she began.

I shook my head as I brought the cookie towards her mouth.

"Haven't we reached the point where it's alright to feed each other?" I asked with a smirk.

She blushed furiously but finally gave up and accepted the treat, taking a bite out of it and closing her eyes, clearly enjoying the taste.

"Who made these?" she asked, her voice messily masked by the food in her mouth.  
"Jenny did actually; she's quite a good baker and the coffee shop hired her three days ago," I replied.

Flora seemed very impressed with that fact.

"That's…really good," she sighed.

I brought the cookie to her mouth again and she took the rest in, nodding gratefully while turning away to hide the blush.

"Well look at you two now, I'd even say you're a cute couple,"

I rolled my eyes at the sound of that voice.

"Why are you here Andrew?" I asked.

The guy who was known as the main event planner across the school only really came to see me when he wanted something.

"I was hoping that one of you could contact Jordan; I haven't heard a peep out of him in the past six days," he replied.

I raised an eyebrow and put a finger to my chin; it was indeed strange that Jordan hadn't said a word to anyone…not even Flora or Lily.

"He's probably burying himself in work again…I'd just leave him alone," said Flora.

Andrew shook his head.

"The reason is because I got some reports from one of the English professors…it's about Annabelle and Jocelyn," he said.

I raised an eyebrow.

"It seems that Jocelyn and Annabelle both completely flunked their first English exam; they don't seem to be any good at writing essays," he said.  
"And why does that concern you?" replied Flora.  
"Because Jocelyn's now one of the people that helps me set up events…she's basically the one that takes care of all of the parties now while I handle sporting events and the like," he replied.  
"And Annabelle?" I asked.

Andrew shook his head.

"She's a part of the student council now and we can't have a representative on that panel who can't write good essays so I was hoping that since Jordan seems to know what he's doing when it comes to that sort of thing that he could help them both out," said Andrew.

I looked down at the ground.

"I'll let him know," I said.

Andrew nodded gratefully.

"He's a lucky bastard; two incredibly hot girls need help in something that he just so happens to be doing as his major? Golden opportunity for-"

Flora gave him an extremely cold gaze that silenced his snide comment. He then walked away, clearly intimidated by her aura. I laughed nervously.

"You're…really scary sometimes you know that?" I asked.

Flora shrugged and leaned her head on my shoulder.

"I have to be or else I wouldn't be the so called talented little gremlin that my brother calls me," she replied with a wink.

* * *

**One Hour Later- Jocelyn And Annabelle's Room**

"Can't believe how annoying these essays turned out to be…"

I growled loudly in irritation as I dropped my head to the desk.

"It probably wasn't a good idea for me to take that exam while I was drunk and sleep deprived…" said Belle.

I rolled my eyes.

"You suck at writing essays too…because you take too damn long to finish them," I said.

Belle shrugged.

"We're both pretty bad at it…and we can't afford to mess up anymore or we're going to fail the course," she said.  
"Yeah…that's very true,"

My phone suddenly went off and I checked it to see a text from Jordan.

"**Cody just informed me that you and Belle flunked the mock exam we took two days ago. If you two need help, feel free to call on me. Always here for my friends. From what I've seen, it seems you need the help more than Annabelle so if you want, we can set aside some time to work on that. Let me know. Jordan."**

"OH! Someone wants to help you get good!" teased Belle.

I blushed furiously at her comment and looked away.

"Sh-Sh-Shut up!" I growled.

She continued to laugh at me.

"Well, I know that I don't really need much help…but I have to say the thought of him tutoring me is a nice one…I could really get to know him better," said Belle rubbing her chin.

She then picked up her phone and quickly typed up a text before throwing it back onto her bed.

"I know that there's no way I'm going to be sitting in a room with the two of you together so if you want his help, you're getting it on days when I'm not doing it with him," she said sternly.

Before I could retort, she flicked me in the head.

"You haven't spoken to him much since you met him and you told me how nice he is to you…so why the hell don't you?" she asked.

I tried to answer but no words came out of my mouth. I had honestly just gotten lost in doing other things in addition to just speaking to other people. Jordan didn't really do much outside of go to class and hang out with his friends…once in a blue moon. The fact that he wasn't exactly a social butterfly was probably one of the reasons why it was so difficult to get to know him; he was hardly around anywhere that I was apart from our English course.

"I…don't know," I replied.

Belle shrugged once more.

"Is it because you saw him kick that guy in the face and you caught a glimpse of his dark side?" she asked.

I wanted to say no…but I would be lying if I said that it wasn't true; it was as if he was a whole different person when he was in that short fight. The nice guy that I spoke to on the bench outside, the down to earth family man who always put his sister and friends before himself seemed to disappear when it was time to fight…and that was kind of scary.

"Maybe…I mean he was pretty cold to them," I said.  
"It's the only way to win a fight; no mercy because you'll receive none," said Belle.

She picked up her phone again after it went off and she smiled.

"I'll be meeting with him Tuesday to Thursday every week in the library from now on until I feel like I don't need his help anymore…you better get on it because he's not going to be on the market for very long," she said.

With that, she picked her bag up.

"Time for class! Later Lyn," she said.

I waved to her as she left the room. I then picked up my phone…pondering long and hard about him. I was definitely curious to learn more about him but at the same time…he didn't exert much effort to stay in contact with me. At the same time however…he did have a lot of classes on his plate considering that he was taking six classes in addition to working night shifts as a bartender. I typed on my phone.

"**How do the weekends look for you? And I'd prefer an environment apart from the library because it's too crowded there…any ideas of where we could go?"**

I send it and let out a heavy breath. I never thought that I'd end up in this situation considering how seriously I took my work…but I'm human and mistakes are made sometimes I suppose. On the bright side of this, this would give me a reason to spend more time with him…time without Belle around to tease and flirt with him.

The phone vibrating jolted me from my thoughts.

"**Weekends sounds good to me. So Friday to Sunday…I guess we could do it in my room considering that no one comes here at all. Don't worry, there's plenty of room in here despite me living alone."**

I raised an eyebrow and typed back.

"**I thought you didn't let anyone into your room…not even your sister or Lily? Seems awfully strange to me that you would just let me in there."**

I didn't even have to wait one minute before I got the reply.

"**Flora and Lily all live on the other side of the campus and unlike you, they aren't struggling in a course and need my help. I make **the** effort to go see them because they're very important to me but seeing as men are not allowed in the dorms that you live in and I'm not familiar with the Resident Assistant who lives there, it's probably safer that you come to my room. No one ever comes in here and I'm very good friends with the RA here. The issue is that there's no really private place to go apart from the groves near the lake…and considering how many tourists go to that area, it's probably not very quiet for us to stay there."**

"_How the fuck did he type all of that so quickly…"_

"…**Alright. I guess we can try it for a week or so to see if it can work. Speaking of which…are you alright? I haven't really heard from you at all."**

Thirty seconds passed before the phone lit up again.

"**I've been dealing with bad memories from the past. I'm sorry for not staying in touch with you because I've really been meaning to…but between all my classes and bartending till 3 AM in the morning, it's been murdering my sleep schedule. But I decided to quit the job so I can devote more time to my work because I want to write my first novel before the semester is out."**

My eyes widened with interest; I absolutely loved reading and I had seen some of his work in class; he's a really good writer.

"**A novel! That sounds awesome! What's it about?"**

Not even ten seconds passed before he replied.

"**Why don't we talk it over when you get here? I have some time right now and we can probably go over everything you missed out in your mock exam. I can have one of my friends drive you down in the caddy if you don't want to walk."**

I shook my head.

"**I'll walk. Give me a bit. I'll be right over."**

I got up to gather some papers and once I packed my bag up, the phone went off once more.

"**Guess I'll cook this brunch up for two instead of one. Hope you like omelets and bacon with homemade hot chocolate."**

I smiled, especially at that homemade hot chocolate part; if he could make such good drinks as a bartender, I can't begin to imagine what he can do when he's actually making something from scratch.

"**I love that stuff…be there soon."**

* * *

**Meanwhile- Lily's Room**

"_So what do you say?"  
_"How the heck can I reply to that in an instant Gary? It's so sudden!"  
_"Asking if you want to go to Outback tonight is sudden?..."_

I rolled my eyes.

"I'm not a fan of last minute things," I replied.  
_"But you love food,"_

I sighed deeply; he knew me too well. There was no way that I was going to turn down eating outside of school, especially at a place like Outback which had some amazing steaks.

"…I'll think about it," I said.

I heard him laugh.

"_Tick tock gorgeous,"_ he teased.

I had no idea why that amused me so much…maybe it was the fact that he actually had the gall to do it. Maybe I was just plain stupid. Maybe it was that accent…

Or maybe it was because he was so sweet to me when he groveled to me last night about how sorry he was…

* * *

_**The Night Before- The Main Courtyard**_

"_Why did you follow me all the way here from the main building?" I snapped.  
"Because it was the only way to get you to talk to me…it's the only time you've been free since the party," he replied_

_I scoffed at his attitude._

"_What makes you think I give a shit about what you say to me now? It's been almost a week and you're choosing __**now**__ to apologize? Fuck you Gary," I snapped again._

_He didn't seem even remotely fazed by my words._

"_You don't even want to tell me what kept you so long that night! If you won't even tell me that what makes you think you have __**any**__ right to have my forgiveness?" I growled._

_His eyes closed and his fists clenched. He was clearly struggling within his mind._

"_If you want to know what I was doing that night, it was getting clean!" he shouted._

_My eyes widened in shock._

"_I didn't want you to see that side of my life so I went off campus to quit the life I had previously," he explained.  
"What're you talking about? You're making absolutely no sense right now," I said._

_He growled loudly._

"_I quit selling drugs Lily," he said._

_My eyes widened even more._

"_You…you were a dealer?" I asked._

_He nodded slowly._

"_I didn't get the financial aid I needed to attend this school without having to pay a bill…so I had to compensate by selling…I was doing it for a year until you came along and made me realize how much a fool I was for even considering it…" he said._

_His tone began to crack as he sat on the bench behind him._

"_When you said you wanted to go to that party and I agreed to meet you there…that was probably the happiest I've been in the last six years because I've never felt more of an urge to do something before," he explained._

_He looked at me._

"_When I was going to leave to come to the party, I got a call from the man who wanted his cut of the money from dealing weed…so I met him off campus and gave him everything…including the weed I was going to sell because it was at that moment that I realized I didn't want to live that life anymore," he said._

_He then put a hand on my cheek._

"_You shone light on my life…that week that I got to talk to you was the best week I've had since I came to this place…and I have no idea why the hell I've considered doing so much for you because I ordinarily don't give a shit what women think," he said._

_My eyes narrowed; he told me about his past whenever it came to women and his last relationship damn near caused him to hate us as a "species" as he referred to it._

"_Look…I know it was wrong for me to be late but I let go a part of my life in favor of doing things the right and proper way instead…if I didn't do it, I would've had to keep lying to you about something and I couldn't bear the thought of keeping things in the dark from you," he continued._

_He let out a sigh and turned away._

"_That's why I was so profoundly affected when you walked away…because I felt like I gave it all up only for it to backfire on me,"_

_I shook my head, fighting back the emotions that suddenly began to run rampant through me._

"…_If it wasn't obvious already, I definitely like you a lot Lily…but if you don't want to forgive, that's alright with me because I deserve it for not telling you about it before…I just didn't think you'd want to know someone who did shady things like that,"  
"Shut up,"_

_He looked at me in shock._

"_Don't you dare try to assume what I wouldn't want to know…if you knew how horrible I felt after Jordan came to see me…"_

_I swallowed my pride._

"_He told me that I should trust in you more because you're not a bad person…you just happened to have been dealt a bad hand of cards but you're still playing the game with them…and that's something that I admire greatly about you,"_

_I put my hand on his cheek._

"_The fact that you came clean to me right now…it proves that Jordan was right about you; deep beneath that cocky attitude and outright ridiculous narcissism you have about yourself…you're a nice guy,"_

_I pulled him to his feet and gave him a hug._

"_Thank you for telling me…and I forgive you," I whispered._

_He tensed for a moment before placing one of his hands on the back of my head._

"…_I gave up a lot of money for you…don't make me regret it,"_

_I rolled my eyes as I moved away from him and then punched him in the stomach. He chuckled and rubbed the spot I just hit._

"_I'm only joking…my god you have quite a temper," he said.  
"….Don't make me regret it,"_

_He looked at me in confusion as I gazed into his blue eyes._

"_Don't make you regret what?" he asked.  
"…Me giving you a chance…"_

_He seemed absolutely baffled at my words and before he could say anything further, I kissed his cheek. He made no move to return my affection but he smiled at me._

"_I'll do my best,"_

* * *

**Present Time**

"I'll come…but don't be surprised if I eat three steaks and not one," I said.

He laughed loudly at my comment.

"_I'll be prepared…I haven't eaten all day either and I didn't plan on doing so unless you said yes,"  
_"You banked the entire day's eating plan based on a coin flip's chance that I'd say yes to dinner?"  
_"And what's the harm in that when I knew you'd say yes?"  
_"Oh so you're a mind reader now huh?" I asked raising an eyebrow.  
_"What's that term those Romans again…a __**demigod**__ is it?"_

I rolled my eyes.

"Hardy har har…weirdo," I said.  
_"Don't pretend you don't like it,"_

I shook my head and laughed softly.

"…Don't be late to pick me up at 7," I said.  
_"7:05 it is then yeah?"_

I hung up the phone and I could just feel the laughter that I caused with my reaction to his smartass reply.

* * *

**Meanwhile- The Coffee Shop**

"Are you sure that everything's alright?"

Vanna shook her head.

"If I was 100% sure...I'd tell you," she replied.

I sighed deeply as I took another gulp of hot chocolate.

"Steven's a really good friend…I'd hate for things to get awkward between the three of us," I said.

Vanna sighed deeply.

"…I already told him how I felt," she said.

My eyes widened.

"Is that why he looked me dead in the eyes and then just walked away as if I didn't exist?" I asked.

She shook her head.

"I…wasn't aware that he liked me and…well, you were there first and I had no idea that he was going to end up coming here…so I let it all go," she explained.

I shook my head vigorously.

"You liked him back then?" I asked.

She sighed deeply.

"Look…the two of you are the closest friends I have besides Flora…it's hard not to see the best in the two of you because you know that I'm not the kind of girl that sits there and tries to see the worst in people," she said.

That much was true; Vanna was never one to judge someone over a bad experience or event because she believes that everything happens for a reason…as well as that we are all only human.

"So…there was a choice between the two of us and you picked the one that happened to be here and not in California?" I asked.

I suddenly lost all the drive to continue with this supposed "coffee date" and for some reason, I wanted nothing to do with her. I felt as if my feelings were never the first choice and if there was one thing that I absolutely hated, it was being a choice. Much to my surprise however, she put a hand on mine.

"…You were there before he was and you never lost contact for months unlike him…the last time he spoke to me before he sent me that text was three weeks prior to it…and it was mostly a hello how are you type thing," she explained.

Her eyes suddenly became sincere.

"You were always by my side…and for that reason, you never had any competition to begin with…I guess I kind of doubted it all because I had no idea you liked me back until that night at the party," she explained.

I smiled slightly.

"But…won't this draw a rift between the three of us?" I asked.

She shook her head.

"Steven knows the situation and I already told him that we started seeing each other…at this point, his opinion is irrelevant," she said.

My eyes narrowed as she leaned forward and gave me a kiss on my cheek.

"It's you…it's always been you," she whispered.

My heart warmed up tremendously as I smiled at her.

"Then I guess I have no regrets in doing this…"

I held both her hands and leaned forward, capturing her lips with mine in a deep kiss. She tensed slightly at the contact…but she eventually started to return it and after a few daylong seconds, we moved apart, blushing furiously at each other.

"…Guess I finally have a player two," I said.

She rolled her eyes.

"Too bad I kick your ass at every game that we play,"  
"Well would you look at these two lovebirds! So cute!"

I turned to see Flora and Cody with the latter snickering. Cody scratched the back of his head and walked up to the counter to order something.

**~ o ~**

"I could say the same for you two…I mean when are you gonna kiss and make it official?" she teased.

I rolled my eyes, blushing furiously at her words.

"I can't just do that…he's one of Jordan's closest friends and if things got awkward between us…it'd drive a rift between them and I don't want him to lose a friend," I replied.

Vanna shook her head.

"That guy is crazy about you…do you really think someone that lazy would walk half an hour to play Super Smash Bros. with you?" asked Andre.  
"He's been looking out for you for years Flora…I think you should at least give him a chance," said Vanna.  
"You _would_ say something like that wouldn't you?" I said, rolling my eyes once again.

Andre chuckled softly.

"That guy knows you better than any other guy alive apart from your brother…I don't think anything can go wrong unless he's really stupid…or you're just too hard to please," he said.  
"Got it all,"

I turned to see that Cody had somehow appeared beside me, holding the bubble tea that I craved all day in his left hand while he held what appeared to be a double chocolate frappicuno in his right. He waved at Andre and Vanna.

"So you two finally together now or what?" he asked bluntly.

Vanna snickered.

"I guess you could say that," she replied.

She then glanced at me and winked.

"You two should follow our example,"

Andre rose to his feet and picked up the garbage we had on the table before looking at his watch.

"Class in ten…I gotta get going," he said.  
"You have class on a Sunday?..." I asked.  
"Judo…I have to go to the gym because Dustin's supposed to be there teaching," he explained.

I nodded as he looked at Vanna.

"I'll see you tonight?" he asked.

Much to my surprise, Vanna kissed his cheek.

"Yes you will," she replied.

He quickly sprinted off as she turned to me and Cody.

"Well…I don't think you need anymore motivation than that so…have fun you two!" she teased.

Before I could snap at her, she left the room. Cody nervously laughed as he handed me the tea.

"Well…that was totally uplifting," he said sarcastically.  
"…Everyone's been saying we should," I said.

Cody shook his head.

"Look…I don't give a flying fuck what anyone else thinks; if you're not comfortable with any of it then consider me not interested…the last thing I want to do is make you feel pressured or uncomfortable," he said.  
"...So you admit it…"

Cody didn't appear to realize what he said until just now and he began to panic.

"Well…I didn't mean for that to come out,"

He looked away, his face now red.

"…Why didn't you tell me anything?" I asked.  
"Because you missed Jordan so much that I didn't want to add more emotional baggage to that gigantic load…I'd be lying if I said that I didn't in the past because the truth is, it took me the first year since we met for me to like you," he said.

His tone was brutally honest, just like Jordan's.

"You're probably the closest friend I have apart from Jordan…so you mean a lot to me and if my feelings are going to drive a wedge between us then I have no interest in keeping them," he said.

My eyes widened at his words as I placed the tea on the table. He continued to sip at the drink in his hand.

"So…are you saying that you want to date me?" I asked.

He sighed deeply.

"Like I said Flora…I don't want to ruin things between us so if my feelings are moot, I have no problems in dropping them right this moment," he explained.

I shook my head and took the drink from his hand and placed it beside me as I looked up into his eyes.

"Answer me…yes or no," I whispered.

He swallowed hard and I could already tell that he was in a huge battle within his mind; half of him definitely wanted to try something but the other half cared about me so much that he would rather bottle it all up than to risk our friendship over something that might now work out very well.

"…Yes I do,"

His tone was…_vulnerable_. I had never heard Cody speak like before and even though his face wasn't red, his eyes radiated all of the guilt and nervousness within him.

**~ o ~**

Why the hell was my heart going so insane? Why was I struggling to find words to say to someone I've known for years? What the hell is wrong with me…

Why did I just admit that…did I just destroy our friendship because I had the audacity to think that she liked me back?

A million and one questions ran through my head as I began to beat myself up mentally for being so selfish and stupid; losing her as a friend effectively meant losing Jordan as a friend as well because there's no way he would forgive me for putting pressure on her like that. Much to my astonishment however, he held one of my hands.

"Okay,"

I pinched myself mentally to ensure I wasn't dreaming or hallucinating…but I didn't wake up from a dream. Instead, I saw a genuine smile on Flora's face as her brown eyes met mine.

"…Okay?" I asked.

She laughed softly.

"Do I have to spell it out for you?..."

She swallowed some air and took a deep breath.

"I've…really appreciated all you've done for me all these years; I could never have gone on without Jordan for all that time if it wasn't for you and you were always there for me…even though most of the time it was just me eating all your food or running up your electric bill by playing games for 14 hours straight on a slow day," she explained.

Her grip on my hand tightened.

"I've…I've been thinking a lot about this…and I'm willing to give it a try if you are," I said.

I suddenly rushed forward and hugged her deeply, wanting to remove my eyes from how ridiculously adorable her face looked.

"…Stop being cute…it's an unfair advantage," I growled childishly.

She responded by hugging me back.

"You better take good care of me…"  
"Like I haven't been doing that already," I replied sarcastically.

I leaned back only for Flora to kiss me on the cheek.

"I guess…you really have grown on me…" she whispered.

She sounded so adorably flustered that it drove me up a mental wall.

"**DAMN IT FLORA!** Stop being so cute!"

* * *

**Later That Night- Jordan's Room**

"She's still asleep…she must've gotten very little sleep last night," I said.  
_"Would you look at that…you have a girl sleeping in your bed already,"_

I rolled my eyes at her words.

"Did you meet up with Paul?" I asked.  
_"Yeah…I saw him at the gym today when I went after class,"_  
"Guess it was a good thing I tricked him into going there," I replied.

Carrie growled loudly.

"_For a hopeless innocent kid…you've got a really romantic mind,"_  
"And for someone who's supposed to be so innocent, you're quite dirty," I replied.

Carrie snickered.

"_It's my job…but thanks for the help with him; I gave him my number and everything already,"_  
"Took you four whole minutes to add him on Facebook right?" I teased.  
_"….Two,"_

I laughed softly.

"Glad you're happy Carrie…just know that he's the kind of guy who will come to you; don't give him any signs and let him make the move," I instructed.  
_"Since when are you a master of men?"_  
"Since I was born with a penis…"

She chuckled loudly.

"_Touche little brother…touche,"_  
"Anyway…just checking on you," I said.  
_"Is Lily alright?"_  
"Gary took her to Outback about an hour ago…she finally decided to let him take her on that first date,"

Carrie squealed loudly.

"_Our little Lily's finally growing up!"_  
"And you say this when she's older than both of us…"  
_"She was __**way**__ too innocent…it was almost unbelievable at times,"_

I laughed again as I looked at Jocelyn and then at my watch; she asked me to wake her up after a two hour nap and it was about time for her to go back to her room; she and I had an 8 AM class tomorrow.

"Alright…I'm gonna go now,"  
_"Carry Jocelyn back to her room like the knight you are!"_

I blushed at her comment and cleared my throat.

"Goodbye Carrie," I said firmly.  
_"Love you brother dearest!"_

I cut off the call and tossed the phone into the chair behind me as I approached Jocelyn.

"_She really got a lot of work done today…and it was really nice to spend some time with her…even if I did have to let her into my room to do so,"_

I gently nudged her until she stirred.

"Hey…it's been two hours," I said.

She yawned loudly.

"Do I have to get up…your bed is _so_ comfy…" she cried.

I laughed nervously.

"Well…you _do_ have to go back to your room," I said.

She groaned as she finally got up.

"I'm really regretting that long trip over here…" she said.

I shrugged.

"I'll drive you back with the caddy," I offered.

She slowly nodded as she gathered all of her work and placed it in her bag.

"Thanks for an awesome day…I really appreciate the help," she said.  
"It's gonna happen all over again on Friday so just remember everything I taught you today," I instructed.

She nodded at me as I picked up my keys.

* * *

**Fifteen Minutes Later- Outside Jocelyn And Annabelle's Room**

"Thanks for the ride back," I said.  
"No problem…now go get some sleep," replied Jordan.

I laughed softly.

"I feel like I slept more than I worked," I said.  
"You'll get used to it…try to get a good night's sleep before you come back on Friday or we won't get lot done," he said.

I nodded.

"I'll do my best," I said.

I opened the door only for Belle to peek out and smile at Jordan.

"Hey handsome!" she said.

Jordan waved at her with a smile.

"We're on for Tuesday right?" she asked.  
"Assuming you still need the help," he replied.

She feigned a stressed face, causing him to chuckle.

"Then yes we're still on," he said with a smile.

For some reason, I felt a pang of jealousy go through me. Why was I feeling that way? I just met Jordan barely a week ago and though we connected pretty well…I don't think that I actually like him…do I?

"Professor Lo gave me a chance for extra credit with an essay…that has to be 1500 words and descriptive," she said.  
"The challenge isn't to reach 1500…it's to keep it under because description makes it easy to reach the limit," he replied.

Belle blew a raspberry.

"Fucking nerd,"  
"The same nerd that's helping you in two days to ace one of the most difficult English courses in the school? Damn right I'm proud of my nerdiness," he chuckled.

Belle smiled at him and blew a kiss to him before going back inside. I sighed deeply and turned back to him.

"So…I'll see you on Friday?" I asked.

He nodded.

"If you want to see me any time in between, you know where to find me," he said.  
"Thanks...I really appreciate it all," I said.

He shrugged and turned to leave but paused.

"Lyn…I wanted to ask you something," he said.

I looked at him to see unsure eyes.

"…Do you believe that love can happen at first sight?" he asked.

I shook my head.

"Beauty captures our attention….but personality is what captures our hearts," I replied.

He smiled at me.

"Good answer….see you at breakfast tomorrow,"


	6. Memories Of The Past

**(A/N): Following up as quickly as I can here to make up for the time I haven't written a single word. I'm really glad you guys enjoyed the last chapter; I worked really hard on making it as realistic as possible (with a few exaggerations here and there to keep things lively and interesting).**

**Anyway, let's hop back to it!**

* * *

**Chapter 5: Memories Of The Past**

* * *

**Three Weeks Later- The Headmaster's Office, Main Building**

"That's great news…I can't wait to pitch the idea," I said.  
_"Just let me know when you're planning to have them come and I'll ensure the property is cleared up for use,"_  
"Thanks Palika, you're a good friend; my students have really been working themselves to the bone this past month,"  
_"What do you mean?"_  
"They got hit with a wave of exams in the first month of the semester; the professors I managed to get this year are a particularly tough bunch so I thought it'd be nice if I gave them a chance to go to a retreat," I replied.  
_"Is that why you called Lisa's father a few days ago about the two villas being open?"  
_"I think it'd be nice for a select few of them to get away from all the work they've been doing," I said.

Palike made a sound half way between a laugh and a gasp.

"_If I didn't know any better Tony, I'd say you're getting a little soft for them,"  
_"They've all been making my job as headmaster a lot easier so it's the least I can do for them…especially since we've got such an overwhelming number of applicants," I replied.  
_"5,244 correct?"_  
"Yeah…and the entire student council really came through when I needed them most,"

A tremendous amount of progress was made in the past three weeks. The entire student council was already established with a great deal of contribution by many of the new freshmen ended up giving a great deal.

Vanna Hoang ended up becoming one of the top students in the Engineering program, despite her double major with Chemistry which would spell absolute torment to all but the most talented students. She was so successful that she actually garnered a lot of attention from others, causing the school to get a lot of publicity which in turn, bolstered our reputation. Thanks to her, the school is now known for excellent Engineering students. In addition to that, she was a very active member of the student council, actively giving input into various student activities and became one of the very few freshman members of the council.

Lily Nguyen and Kevin Katipunan were the two top medical students in the program and were in the 95th overall percentile in the country for medical students overall. Lily even caught the attention of a magazine due to her universally acclaimed good looks and she was now the face of our school magazine, glorified as her infamous moniker "the angel of the UOA Medicine". Kevin was keeping up with her in grades and was on his way to entering his Senior Year in the program where he would be able to graduate at the top of his year…assuming that he pulled ahead of Lily. Both were in the student council with the two of them being in charge of running events that occurred within the medical school, such as field trips from high schools to see the building and various other things.

Flora Liang was a natural with the flute as well as the performing arts in general and not only did she join the student council as it's youngest current member but she also represented us in flute performances, doing various things like covering popular songs to performing in front of hundreds of people. She was a great example of what a student council member should be because she not only excelled in academics but she was active in just about everything. It was a no brainer to induct her into the council, especially at the request of Andrew Chau who was the vice president of the council.

"It'd be nice to see how this plan of mine unfolds…I'm really interested in seeing what they do," I said with a smile.  
_"Put it in motion then; I'll make sure the villa is open for everyone,"_

I said goodbye to Palika as I buzzed Lisa to come into my office.

"What's up?" she asked.  
"We got the green light to use the villa for the Student Council retreat…so inform Andrew and Yvette that we got the ok," I said.

Lisa nodded but before she could leave, I raised a hand.

"However, to make things more interesting…give Flora, Lily and Vanna nine extra invitations; I'm very interested in seeing who they'll allow to come," I said.  
"But…isn't this supposed to be for the student council only?' she asked.

I shook my head.

"If it was just them alone…it'd just feel like a perk to be a part of the council and what's the fun in just having a measly 12 people going to this thing? We have two villas and you and I can stay with the Senior and Junior members while they get the other villa to themselves," I said.

Lisa nodded but laughed softly.

"Still trying to play matchmaker?"

I snickered.

"You know me too well my dear," I said as I rose to my feet.

* * *

**Four Hours Later- Flora, Raina, Sharon and Vanna's Room**

"You invited _that_ many people?!" I asked.  
"For some reason we all got the power to invite nine people…so naturally I invited all of our friends," replied Vanna.

I shook my head as Flora placed a hand on my shoulder.

"You're one of them so why the long face Jenny?" she asked.

I sighed softly.

"It feels…kind of unfair because we're all going to be enjoying ourselves over everyone else," I replied.  
"Well it wouldn't be very fun if it was just the council…I only know Andrew, Vanna and Lily well amongst the entire body," said Flora.

I shook my head as Flora squeezed my cheeks.

"It's okay…I invited your boyfriend," she teased.

My cheeks turned to red Christmas lights as I looked away.

"Y-Y-You invited Vu?" I gasped.

Flora winked at me and snickered.

"Don't think I don't see you guys in the library at times; you both suck at hiding," she said.

I sighed deeply and turned away.

"But what about everyone else? Did you invite your brother Flora?" asked Vanna.  
"I was going to ask him tonight when I go to his room; today's a really dark day for him…so I'm going to go stay with him," she replied.

I looked at her in confusion as her eyes narrowed.

"It's…the day that his parents died in a car crash a few years ago…he never shows his face in public on this day," she continued  
"I…I'm so sorry…" I said.

Flora shook her head.

"He's my big brother and I'll always be there for him…but there's only so much I can do as his sister…I'm really hoping my plan works," she said.

Everyone looked to her, including Raina who was reading a book.

"What…_plan_?"

* * *

**Later That Afternoon- The Cafeteria**

"Did you finish off all your work?" asked Belle.

I smiled and nodded.

"Jordan really helped me out with the essay lessons…it's worked wonders," I replied.

She smiled at me and stretched her arms.

"I got invited to some trip to a villa…apparently a bunch of us are going," she said.  
"I did too…I got an invitation from Flora for some reason,"  
"Jordan's little sister…god she's so fucking adorable, there's no way I could say no to her," squealed Belle.

I rolled my eyes as I continued to eat my sandwich.

"Have you seen Jordan around at all? I've been looking for him to ask him something," said Belle.

I raised an eyebrow.

"What's that?" I replied.  
"There's a small Celtic Culture event happening next week and I wanted someone to come with me…I was hoping he would,"

I suddenly felt a pang of jealousy course through me…but why? It was no secret that Belle had a thing for him, especially since he helped her perfect her essay writing skills and spending so much time with him really brought them closer…but for some reason, I felt as if my time was more…personal. He allowed me to come to his room three times a week for the past three weeks in addition to just visiting whenever I wanted to just get out of my room…so why did I feel this way whenever Belle talked about him like this?

"I…have no idea where he is actually," I replied.

Belle shrugged.

"_Strange…he's usually in the cafeteria by now for lunch…wonder what's up with him?"_

I pulled out my phone and began to type a text.

"**Hey! Noticed you didn't come to the cafeteria to eat lunch with me like you usually do every Tuesday…is everything ok?"**

I put my phone down but it wasn't even five seconds before I got a text…from Flora?

"**Jocelyn…I need your help, can you come to Jordan's room right now? He's not responding to any of my calls and I've tried to knock on his door but he isn't responding at all…I can hear his ringtone through the door but he just won't pick up,"**

My eyes widened as I immediately picked up my bag. Belle seemed to notice my panic.

"What's wrong?" she asked.  
"Jordan…he's not answering his door," I replied.

* * *

**Fifteen Minutes Later- Outside Jordan's Room**

Belle looked at his door and shook her head.

"Guess I'm gonna have to…hope I don't get in trouble for this," she sighed.

She removed a hairpin from her hair and began to pick the lock on his door. I looked around frantically for anyone that could be watching but thankfully, it was a really slow day today and many of the others were still in class.

"He's behaving so strangely…is everything alright with him?" asked Jocelyn.

I shook my head.

"This is a day that he dreads every year…I just hope he didn't go do something stupid," I replied.

Belle finally got the door open and we entered his room to see that he wasn't inside.

"Wow…I see why he never leaves his room now," said Belle.

I always knew my big brother was a huge fan of video games and anime so it didn't surprise me to see his wall full of posters of both. His computer desk had a custom built desktop along with two monitors which is what he used for his gaming and he also had a Macbook for his work. He had a medium sized bookshelf as well, full of many Tom Clancy books along with various other authors that he found interesting. His bed however was an absolute mess; books were open and papers were all over it. His closet door was wide open and much to my surprise…he had a large album of photos on the floor which was also wide open.

"_Oh no…he must've looked through those and really gone off the deep end with his sorrow…shit, this isn't good,"_

I sighed and picked up the album before closing it up.

"What's going on?" asked Jocelyn.

My eyes narrowed as I sat on his bed.

"Today's the day that both his parents died…as well as they day he moved back to Jamaica four years ago and left me,"

Belle's eyes narrowed as did Jocelyn's.

"He's gotta be in a lot of pain now…but where would he go?" I asked.

**~ o ~**

He…didn't tell me about his past much. In all the time we spent together, he seemed so nice and happy. He was always pleasant to me and always willing to help with anything I asked of him…he's just too nice of a guy to suffer like this. I thought long and hard back to our previous conversations…until something hit me.

* * *

_**Two Weeks Ago- The Grove**_

"_This…this place is beautiful," I said.  
"It's where I come to think when I have writer's block," replied Jordan._

_He smiled as he approached one of the trees._

"_Tony picked a really nice place to erect this school…and he did well to ensure that this place stayed natural," he continued._

_I smiled as I joined him on the boardwalk and sat down beside him._

"_You must come here a lot then huh?" I asked._

_He shook his head._

"_Not for writer's block…but more to think because it's the peace and quiet that really helps me to put things into perspective," he explained._

_He looked to the water as his eyes narrowed._

"_Here…I can just be myself," he whispered.  
"So why did you bring me here?" I asked._

_He smiled at me._

"_Because it's one of the things that I cherish…I wanted to share it with you and well…because it gets cramped up in that room of mine as much as I hate to admit it," he chuckled._

_I shook my head._

"_I…really wanted to say thank you for all you've done for me; my grades really took a turn for the better thanks to all your help…" I whispered._

_He laughed softly._

"_What're friends for?"_

_A loud caw broke the atmosphere and I looked up to see a large tropical bird flying towards us. Jordan laughed before whistling a small tune. Much to my surprise, the bird landed on the edge of boardwalk and looked at him._

"_Want a cracker?"_

_He pulled out that random bag of crackers that he took with him and I laughed softly._

"_So that's why you randomly took that bag of biscuits,"_

_The bird flew off of its perch above us and landed on Jordan's shoulder as he raised one of the crackers up to it._

"_Would you believe that I took this big girl right here to this place and set her free?" he asked._

_I looked at him in confusion._

"_This bird is yours? What kind is she?"  
"A Jamaican Macaw and her name is Sellie,"_

_As if in response to her name, the bird said "yes" in an almost questioning tone. Jordan laughed loudly as he brought the cracker to her foot. She shook her head and pushed her beak against his temple repeatedly._

"_Oh right…forgot to break it,"_

_He broke it half and only then did she accept it, grabbing it with one of her feet and hopping off of his shoulder to eat it._

"_She's…really smart," I said.  
"Trained her for the entirety of my life in Jamaica; she's seven years old," he explained._

_I smiled as she quickly finished the biscuit before uttering a "thank you" in a joyful tone._

"_Gonna say hi to our friend here?" he asked._

_The bird approached me and much to my surprise, she bowed her head before saying "hello"._

"_You trained her well," I said.  
"Took me a long time to teach her to bow…she loves to talk but apart from that, she's lazy," he chuckled._

_He then snapped his fingers three times which caused her to land on his shoulder again._

"_Kiss?"_

_The bird responded by gently pecking his cheek and rubbing her head against it._

"_Good girl…now go back home; it's getting dark," he said._

_She shook her head before cawing and looking at me. Jordan raised an eyebrow before smiling._

"_Her name is Jocelyn," he said._

_He repeated my name a few times very slowly to her and much to my surprise, she said my name._

"_Satisfied? Now will you go?"_

_She jumped off his shoulder into flight but on her way up into the air, she said "bye" loudly before flying off._

"_I usually come here every Thursday but I didn't go last week because I ended up staying last with Belle so I just thought I'd give her a treat to make up for it," he said.  
"You come here every Thursday?" I asked.  
"Without fail…till last week of course,"_

_I shook my head._

"_You're really weird…you know that?"  
"I prefer the term unique," he replied sticking his tongue out at me._

_I rolled my eyes before playfully punched him in the shoulder. His face then became serious._

"_If I ever disappear sometime…come look for me here," he said softly._

_I looked at his face to see that it seemed at peace._

"_This is the only place I would go…if I was ever down about something and no one knows about it apart from you and I…can I ask you to keep this a secret?"  
"Even from your sister?"  
"I plan to show her one day…but not now,"_

_I nodded._

"_Alright…I promise,"_

* * *

**Present Time, Fifteen Minutes Later- The Grove**

I continued to stare at the water from my safe haven in the tree I climbed.

_"Guess I still haven't gotten over it even after all these years...who would've thought that there'd actually be a day out of the year where I'd __**actually**__ miss my old man,"_

I felt terrible about leaving my phone in my room but at the same time...I just didn't want to be around anyone right now; I didn't want them to see how weak I looked thanks to memories of the past. My eyes narrowed as I began to think back to my time back in Jamaica...

How difficult it was to ensure that everything back there was resolved...it killed me inside just thinking about it.

* * *

_**Two Years Ago**_

_"Hey mom...I finally managed to take care of all the business stuff...now I just have to make sure that everyone here's all set,"_

_I laughed softly._

_"You wouldn't believe how much paperwork I had to do to get everything resolved...felt like a desk job especially since Grandpa wasn't around anymore to help me with it all...now I really am beginning to see why you always told me to study some business,"_

_I then turned to the left and let out a deep sigh._

_"You were right all along old man...even though we never really got on that well...I'm really beginning to appreciate all that you tried to teach me,"_

_I felt a hand on my shoulder and I turned to see my best friend, Mark._

_"We've gotta get going," he said._

_I sighed once more as I turned back._

_"I'll come back here on each of your birthdays until the day I leave...I'll see you two in a month,"_

_I placed both bouquets of flowers on their headstones and clasped my hands together._

_"I'll do my best to carry on without you two...but now more than ever do I wish...that we got along better,"_

* * *

**Present Time**

"Jocelyn! Jocelyn!"

I rolled my eyes as I looked to Sellie, who had somehow found me and landed on the branch in front of me.

"Crazy bird..." I mumbled.  
"Is she really crazy?"

My heart skipped a beat as I looked down to see that Jocelyn was actually below me, looking up at me.

"How...did you know to look over here?" I asked.  
"A little birdie told me," she replied with a wink.

I shook my head.

"Of course Sellie would lead to you me...crazy bird,"

I jumped down from the tree and looked at her.

**~ o ~**

I had no idea why I decided to walk all the way out here by myself. I had no idea why I didn't take Flora or Belle with me...but here I was looking at him dead in the eyes.

"Why aren't you doing something fun with the others?" he asked.  
"Because everyone was looking for you...and I remembered what you told me the last time we came over here so I figured you were lurking around this spot," I replied.

He shook his head.

"Today isn't exactly a fun day in my history...so I usually spend it alone," he said.  
"Your sister's looking for you though...and she really needs you," I said.

He looked at me in concern.

"Is she alright?"  
"She's really worried about you...she tried to call you about seven times and you didn't pick up so she feared the worst and got me and Belle to help look for you," I explained.

He sighed deeply and crouched down to pick up what seemed to be a small black book.

"What's that?" I asked.

He handed the book to me.

"It's got two halves...one half is my dream journal which I use to train myself to lucid dream and the other half is a compiled list of all my writing ideas," he explained.

I turned to the second half and much to my surprise...it was filled with information.

"You...come here to think as well don't you?" I asked.

He nodded slowly.

"I don't spend all my time in my room...in fact I spend about 40% of my time here and the rest in class or eating," he explained.

I handed him back the book as he once again sighed.

"I feel like I'm just worrying everyone...it's supposed to be a joyful day considering what Tony called me to let me know," he said.  
"He called you? About what?"

He smiled slightly.

"My manuscript for my first novel got approved...he knows a few people in the publishing business and he recommended me," he said.

I smiled brightly at him.

"That's great!" I said.

He shook his head.

"It's...it's gonna be a lot of work to do but I have a shot at getting a book and more importantly, my name out there," he said.  
"You're a hard worker...and a really good writer; I have faith in you and you can definitely count on me to read whatever you publish...even if it's garbage," I said with a wink.

He chuckled loudly for a moment before giving me a genuine smile.

"That...means a lot to me...thanks Lyn," he said.

* * *

**Later That Night- The Student Lounge**

"So is everyone here yet?" mumbled Andre.  
"Not quite...still missing a few people," I replied.

Gary rolled his eyes.

"What's the point of meeting up now...aren't we all going to see each other on the bus on Saturday?" he mumbled.

I cut him a glare.

"Because keeping track of 27 people is really hard...and I want everyone to meet beforehand so it's not awkward as shit on Saturday," I growled.

I felt a hand on my shoulder and I turned to see Jordan.

"Calm down sis...he was sleeping before Lily called him in here so don't blame him for being grumpy," he said.

Gary rolled his eyes and sank back down into the chair. Jordan then leaned to my ear.

"Did you invite that person I told you about?" he asked.

I gave him a wink.

"He's coming...and I invited two other people you don't know about too," I said.

He shrugged.

"The more the merrier I guess...and thanks for the talk...you really brought me out of that dark place," he said.

I gave him a warm hug.

"It's what sisters do!" I replied with a smile.

He released me and went to sit with Carrie and Vanna around the coffee table in the middle of the room.

Thus far, everything was going according to plan...I invited the 9 people that I wanted and the others that were asked to come had already arrived.

_"Ajani, Andre, Raina, Sharon, Carrie, Kevin, Gary, Jenny, Ducky, David, Cody, Zinnia, Katherine, Steven and Jordan...so all the ones still to come are Anson, Ji, Lixy, Annabelle, Jocelyn, Vu and...if he happens to come-"_

My phone vibrated and I answered it.

_"Hey...which building am I supposed to come to again?"  
_"Main building's student lounge," I replied.

He chuckled.

_"I'm outside but the door's closed...can you let me in?"  
_"Is everyone else with you?"  
_"Yep, Ji, Lixy, Annabelle and Jocelyn are all here with me...though I'm not sure where that other guy is,"  
_"You mean Vu?"  
_"That's a really weird first name...but yeah, he's not here,"_

I rolled my eyes.

"Coming to let you in,"

**~ o ~**

I watched Flora sprint towards the door and I raised an eyebrow.

"What's got her so lively?" I asked.  
"Probably the rest of the people that were invited arriving," replied Jordan.

Lily poked me in the stomach.

"Play your damn card Carrie!" she growled.

I laughed nervously as I dropped my cards.

"Uno!" I cheered.

Lily rolled her eyes and lay back.

"How...how do you win this game so often?" gasped Vanna.

I shrugged.

"I've always had good luck with card games...dunno why," I replied.

Jordan laughed softly.

"If we ever go to Vegas...let's make Carrie play Blackjack and rob them blind," he said.

I flicked him in the forehead.

"Hardy har har," I said rolling my eyes.  
"Alright everyone! Now we're all here!"

I turned to see that Flora had returned.

"I decided it would be a good idea for us all to meet up before the trip on Saturday to the villas; since everyone here in this room are already familiar with each other, there's a few others who have not really met or spent time with any of us...so give em all a warm welcome!"

I looked to see that Annabelle and Jocelyn had arrived and I looked slyly to Jordan.

"Haven't you been tutoring those two?" I asked.  
"Still am...but I didn't know they were coming to this," he replied.

I heard the nervousness in his tone and I smiled devilishly.

"So...which one's your favorite?" I teased.

Both women approached us, Jocelyn and Annabelle flanking Jordan's sides as they joined us in our game of Uno.

Jordan rolled his eyes but for some reason, smiled evilly. Another couple walked into the room...two people I have never seen before.

"This cute couple is Ji Choi and Lixy Nguyen! They're friends of Lily...I think?"  
"I've met him in the gym before...guy's got a hell of a roundhouse kick," said Gary.

Ji laughed softly.

"Sorry about that kick," he said.

Gary shrugged.

"It was a sparring match; it's only fair then yeah?"

The man was of course, of Asian descent. He had short brown hair and he was a rather well built man. Though he wasn't as tall as Gary nor as muscular, he definitely showed a level of tone and definition. Beside him was a woman with long dark brown hair, also of Asian descent. Her hair was undoubtedly the thing that stood out most about her until I reached her body to see that she was quite slender. After taking a look at her boyfriend and then back at her...I was actually a little concerned for her; Ji looked like he could snap her in half if he decided to give her a bear hug.

"Nice to meet you all!" said Lixy.

I smiled as the couple joined us around the table.

"Uno? Hell yeah I love this game," said Ji.

Flora cleared her throat.

"And our last guest is actually a Junior year student! He's a really good friend of Kevin's as well as Jordan's," she said.

Much to my horror...a man I knew all too well walked into the room with a nervous smile and a hand on the back of his head.

"Who's laughing now sis?" snickered Jordan.

My heart sped up tremendously as I swallowed hard.

"Hey everyone! I'm Paul Bui!"  
"Paul! Didn't think your ugly ass was coming to this thing too," said Gary.

Paul raised an eyebrow and shook his head.

"Figures the cocky British shithead would be here too," he chuckled.

Gary rose to his feet and I half-expected him to try and deck Paul in the face right there but much to my surprise, they gave each other a brotherly hug.

"All that work with the weights is really beginning to pay off for you mate," said Gary.  
"You've been a good motivation, thanks for all the pep talks," replied Paul.

Gary shrugged.

"I wouldn't be much of trainer in training if I wasn't then yeah?" he said.

Paul shook his hand as he glanced over to Jordan, who waved at him.

"You're on this trip too? Well...your sister is on the council so I shouldn't expect any less," he said.  
"Well hello to you too," said Jordan rolling his eyes.

Flora rejoined us at the table as Paul sat in the couch opposite me. Jordan then leaned over to my ear.

"Checkmate sis," he whispered.


	7. To Honolulu!

**(A/N): Chapter 6!**

**Took a little while I ended up converting the entire story over to here from fictionpress (got really tired of the try hard reviewers so I decided to bring it over here where everyone understands that this is for fun).**

**I'm terribly sorry for the wait everyone. Have fun with this one!**

* * *

**Chapter 6: To Honolulu!**

* * *

**Saturday Morning- Angel Spring Villas**

"Everybody settled in well?" asked Palika.

Tony nodded.

"Thanks for all the help and your kindness for letting us use these for the weekend," said Tony.

Palika chuckled and shook his head.

"Anything for an old friend, do me a favor and let me know when you're getting your party on so I can be here for it," he said.  
"Oh then you can come back tonight; Lisa's bringing all the party favors and such a little later," replied Tony.

Palika raised an eyebrow.

"You planned all of this out from beginning to end didn't you?" he asked with a chuckle.  
"Only thing I haven't accounted for is the reactions from the couples in question," replied Tony with a shrug.

Palika slapped himself in the forehead.

"Ever since you started dating Lisa, you've just been wanting to share that feeling with everyone huh?" asked Palika.  
"Can you blame me?"

Palika laughed and shook his head.

"I guess I can't, especially since you actually bother to get to know your students unlike most other headmasters out there," he replied.  
"Yeah...some of them are even good friends of mine so if I can give them a shot at letting their feelings out, it's all the better," said Tony.

Palika chuckled.

"Is that why you handed invites to those three people?" asked Palika raising an eyebrow.  
"I knew exactly who they would invite...though I didn't account for Vu's absence in the case of Jenny but I had a word with Jordan and his cousin will be here to help with all the cooking," explained tony.  
"You mean Justin Wong? The guy who works at the Jamaican restaurant a few blocks from here?' asked Palika.  
"The same one...who'd have known that they were actually cousins," chuckled Tony.

Palika nodded.

"He's a good kid...hope Jenny likes him but what about the others?"  
"You mean the couples in question? Well a few of them are already established but this trip is really meant to cement it all together," replied Tony.  
"I know that Vanna and Andre are a thing...feel kinda sorry for Steven but he's a pretty cool dude to be alright with it,"  
"That he is," replied Tony.  
"There's also Flora Liang and Cody Moodie...I'm actually pretty shocked that they're a thing," said Palika.

Tony shook his head.

"They haven't really taken much of a step according to Jordan; Cody's too shy to make a move," he said.

Palika chuckled loudly.

"Guess it's gonna take some drinking games and some alone time then huh?" he said.  
"It's always a good way to loosen the strings,"

Tony took a breath.

"There's also Lily Nguyen and her guy...I don't really know him very well but I hear they're quite the couple," said Tony.  
"The acclaimed Goddess Of UOA Medical has actually been taken off the market? Lucky bastard," chuckled Palika.  
"They fight a lot though I hear...but between Jordan and Flora, Lily's been handling it pretty well,"

Palika looked to the ground.

"Seems Jordan's always there to help them out but he never bothers to do anything himself," said Palika.  
"He's been giving Jocelyn Ho and Annabelle Rose tutoring lessons in essay writing...he's got game if you ask me," chuckled Tony.  
"From what little I know, Annabelle actually has a thing for him but as for the other one, I don't know,"

Tony shrugged.

"Either one's a winner honestly but Jordan's incredibly difficult to read; I have no clue who he actually has feelings for though I'm tempted to say more on the side of Annabelle; I saw them in the library a few times and they definitely look like they get along well," noted Tony.  
"How the hell he can manage to tutor two beautiful women like that without losing his nerve is beyond me..."

Both men burst into a small fit of laughter.

"There's also the matter of Carrie Moy and Paul Bui...Jordan's told me loads about how much she stares at him," said Tony.  
"Paul? You mean that tall Asian guy with the spiky black hair right?" asked Palika.  
"That's him alright...but I'm sure Flora and Lily can think of some ideas to get them together," chuckled Tony.

A car horn broke the two men from their conversation as they turned to see that Lisa had arrived in a black SUV.

"Give us a minute babe!" shouted Tony.

She simply smiled at him as she leaned back in the seat.

"Hope you're making that girl happy; she's been working with you for a while," said Palika.

Tony raised his hands.

"Doing my best! I promise," he said.  
"Need some help taking out the favors?"

The men turned to see that Paul and Cody had come outside, clearly due to the sound of the car horn.

"Yeah go ahead and help her out," said Palika.

The duo approached the car as Tony and Palika walked towards the villas.

"There's also the matter of Katherine Leliani and Ajani Richards...but I honestly think that can sort itself out," said Tony.  
"Ajani...is he the Jamaican medical student who's really good with music?" asked Palika.  
"Yeah...sorry about that night; Ajani volunteered and the students all wanted him," said Tony.

Palika shook his head and smiled.

"No offense taken; it gave me a night to sleep," he chuckled.  
"Those are all the couples I'm aware of...so hopefully by Monday when it's time to return to campus, things will sort themselves out," said Tony.

Palika nodded.

"Here's hoping...but for now, let's get this place ready for a party!"

* * *

**Just Before Noon- The Beach Outside The Students' Villa**

"Come on big brother! Have a drink!" begged Flora.

Jordan shook his head and turned his attention back to the book in his head.

"Not interested...go have fun sis," he said.

Flora pouted as Cody grabbed her hand.

"Come play some volleyball with us!" cheered Cody.

Flora looked at her brother one last time before following Cody to the volleyball court they drew up earlier.

"Why won't he just have some fun?..." she sighed.  
"Give him some time; he just needs to find a reason to justify himself having some fun...don't you see what he's holding in his hand?" asked Cody.

Upon closer inspection, Flora noticed that the book in his hand was his journal.

"He's probably trying to come up with ideas for his novel...just let him have some time to himself alright?" asked Cody.

Flora rolled her eyes as she picked up the volleyball on the ground.

"We'll play!"

Katherine, Jenny and Vanna all stepped up to join the two of them.

"Well...one more and it can be three on three," said Cody.  
"Guess I'll hop in,"

No one even noticed the new person arriving and blending in with the beach scene. A man, no older than 20 years old approached the court. He had light brown skin, long dirty blonde hair left to flare over his eyes and a rather toned body though he was by no means large in stature. His voice had the familiar Jamaican accent that Jordan and Ajani both had though it was masked with an American one due to his time in Hawaii.

"Justin! Good to see you again bro!"

Cody approached him and gave him a brotherly hug.

"Been a while Cody...and is that really Flora? You've gotta be kidding me...you've sprouted!" he said with a laugh.

She approached him and gave him a hug as he joined their side of the court.

"Don't kill them Justin, take it easy or they'll probably beat you with swimming noodles," shouted Jordan.

Justin turned to see that Jordan was looking at him with a smile.

"Good to see you too cuz!" he replied.  
"Did you bring the grill and coal?" he asked.  
"Already set it up, you can get started!" replied Justin.

Jordan rose from his seat and cracked his knuckles as he placed his book in his bag.

"Dry rub and homemade sauce is in the white plastic bag beside it!" shouted Justin.  
"How big?" asked Jordan.  
"About two gallons?" replied Justin.

Jordan shook his head.

"We have a few others coming to the party tonight that aren't among the group here now so we'll have to make more...especially since you know me, Lily and Cody love to eat," said Jordan.  
"The kitchen should have some stuff in there and I brought more ingredients anyway just in case," said Justin.

Jordan clapped his hands excitedly and ran off to cook lunch for everyone as Justin turned to see his opponents: Katherine, Vanna and Jenny.

"So...let's play!"

* * *

**A Few Minutes Later- The Villa's Pool Area**

"So...you're the one cooking?" asked Carrie.  
"Just the Jamaican stuff; Justin can't cook it as well as me and Ajani's busy setting up the bar inside so I guess I'll just do this part myself," replied Jordan.

Carrie rolled her eyes.

"It's like you take pleasure in working yourself to the bone..."  
"Who better to cook Jamaican food than an _actual_ Jamaican?"

She tilted her head for a moment and then nodded.

"Good point…but man you never stop working do you?"  
"Guess I like to keep myself busy," he replied.

Carrie shook her head.

"Hey bro! Need some help?"

Carrie turned to see that Ji and Paul had come outside. Jordan put a hand to his chin before smiling.

"As a matter of fact yes! Ji could you cut all the vegetables up and Paul, you can make the sauce; I'll teach you,"

Paul smiled as he joined Jordan behind the counter while Ji grabbed a knife and swiftly began to chop the vegetables.

"Carrie, you can go ahead and start chopping these peppers here for the sauce, Paul I need you to mix that Honey BBQ sauce with those spices in that bowl over there," said Jordan.

Paul nodded and quickly set off to his task. Carrie glared at Jordan.

"What do you think you're doing?" she said quietly.  
"Giving you bonding time because you've barely been able to get near the guy since he got here?...it's like he's a magnet and you're refusing to turn to metal," replied Jordan.

Carrie sighed deeply as she picked up a knife and began to cut the small peppers as instructed.

"Hey J! Start wit di dinna yet?"

Everyone turned to see that Justin had come inside.

"Jus start still…wi na none a di pimento an ting inna di box dem?" said Jordan.

Justin shook his head.

"Bossi neva let mi tek none a it…but mi did bring everyting me tink coulda use mek di dinna," replied Justin.  
"Where Ajani deh?" asked Jordan.

Justin pointed outside.

"Call him fi mi nuh?" he asked.  
"Yeah hol on,"

Carrie looked at Jordan with a raised eyebrow.

"…I don't understand a word you just said," she said.  
"Because you're not Jamaican and you've never heard Patois before?" he replied with a chuckle.  
"And we've all never heard that accent of yours," said Paul.

Jordan shook his head.

"Guess I just haven't had much of a reason…oh good job Paul, that looks pretty good," said Jordan.

He took the bowl from his and added everything into a large food processor.

"Put the peppers in there Carrie," he said.

He quickly stepped away from the counter and picked up a small shaker as Carrie poured the chopped peppers into it.

"That's…gonna be spicy," she sighed.  
"It's the only way to eat Jamaican food," replied Jordan.

He then poured a little of the spice from the shaker that was labeled _Authentic Jamaican Jerk Seasoning_. Once he was satisfied, he sealed the container and allowed the machine to blend the sauce up. Ajani soon arrived.

"Wa gwan in here? Yu call mi?" asked Ajani.  
"Yeah…wa yu taste dis an tell mi if it spicy enough," replied Jordan.

After a few more seconds of grinding, Jordan removed the lid and put a small amount of the sauce onto a spoon and handed it to Ajani. Justin took a fingertip of the sauce and tasted it in tandem. Ajani smiled.

"Likkle bit more ca yu know seh dem nuh know how spicy we do it back a yaad," said Ajani.

Justin closed his eyes.

"It's pretty spicy but I agree, could use a little more pepper to make it more like home," said Justin.

Jordan handed another Scotch Bonnet pepper to Carrie.

"You know what to do sis,"

She rolled her eyes; it was gonna be a long day until the party actually began.

"What's everyone doing in here?"

Everyone turned to see Annabelle coming from the living room.

"Going for a swim are you?" asked Ji.  
"I'm at a house with a big ass pool and seawater…why would I not?" she asked.

She then sniffed the air and smiled.

"Something smells good,"

Jordan added the final pepper into the processor and added a little more barbeque sauce and jerk seasoning before blending it once more.

"Give this a taste and tell me if it's good," he said.

Paul swallowed hard; a total of _four_ of the third hottest pepper on the planet was now mixed in with the sauce that was in the processor. Annabelle however didn't even remotely seem to be fazed by the scent of the pepper and simply sat at the counter. After a few seconds, Jordan removed the top of the processor and put a small amount on a spoon before handing it to her. She however shook her head and opened her mouth. Jordan smiled as he placed the spoon in her mouth and drew it out. She seemed in thought for a few moment and even though her face began to turn red, she was still smiling.

"Holy shit it's hot but it's really tasty…everyone's gonna need some milk to drink with that though," she said.

Jordan smiled.

"Where's Lyn?" he asked.  
"Coming down in a second; she was trying to decide what swimsuit to wear," she replied rolling her eyes.

Justin approached the counter and picked up a large box of uncooked chicken.

"Start them on the grill?" he asked.  
"Yeah, we'll just rub the sauce on it afterwards," said Jordan.  
"Mek mi taste it?" asked Ajani.

Jordan handed him another spoon with some on it and after a few seconds, Ajani let out a whistle.

"THAT is what I remember from home!" he cheered.  
"Let's get cooking then shall we?"

* * *

**A Few Hours Later**

"We're all set?" asked Tony.  
"Food's all done," replied Justin.  
"Alright great, let's set up the tables so everyone can grab what they want from it," said Vanna.

Flora pouted.

"Still can't believe Justin killed us all in volleyball...damn show off," she said rolling her eyes.  
"Well the guy is basically a ninja...he's better than Jordan and me in parkour and he runs to work **everyday** which is about twelve blocks to and back...I'm actually surprised you guys managed to score a point at all," said Cody scratching the back of his head.

Jenny smiled.

"He's...pretty cute though," she said.

Tony snickered to himself.

_"Plan's working like a charm...just need to get Jordan alone with one of those two girls..."_

"So who's down for musical chairs!"

Everyone turned to see a girl of Vietnamese descent. She had a beautiful face, long brunette hair and was dressed in a bikini though her lower half was covered by some shorts.

"We need a few more to play!" she said.

She looked around until she spotted Jordan, who was sitting in a lounge chair once again reading.

"Come on Jordie! Play with us!" she begged.

He rolled his eyes.

"Why...you're gonna cheat and kick me like you did last time Doan,"

She snickered.

"That doesn't make it less fun! And come on! Vivian's playing too!" she cheered.  
"...Less fun? Me getting kicked in the leg is supposed to be fun? You crazy girl," he said shaking his head.

No one expected Doan to cross the room and grab Jordan by the arm. She then whistled loudly and within seconds, another girl as well as Lily came inside.

"Vivian! He's being stubborn!" said Doan in a sing song voice.

Lily rolled her eyes.

"Guess we'll have to make him have fun the hard way..." said Lily.

All three women grabbed his arms and began to pull him outside.

"Oh come on! Are you guys just gonna stand there and let them do this?!" he said in disbelief.  
"Have fun!" cheered Flora.

Doan then put a hand to her chin and whispered something into Vivian's ear. She smiled evilly as she looked to Annabelle and Jocelyn, who were sitting down and having drinks. Doan proceeded to drag Jordan outside by the ear.

"Traitors!" cried Jordan.

Vivian approached Jocelyn and Annabelle and smiled.

"Come outside and make it more fun," she said with a smile.

Annabelle shrugged and finished her drink in one gulp.

"Why not? Bout time we did something fun right?" she said.

She then looked to Jocelyn, who seemed unsure.

"Don't be lame Lyn; you haven't gone outside with the swimsuit you spent the last hour choosing," said Annabelle rolling her eyes.

With a deep sigh, Jocelyn rose to her feet.

"I'll play a few songs I guess,"

* * *

**One Hour Later**

"Well that was a lot of fun...but I'm starving," said Flora.  
"Well we have loads of food don't we?...please don't eat all of it Lily," sighed Gary.  
"You too Doan," said Jordan rolling his eyes.

Doan childishly stuck her tongue out at him.

"You've been meaning to challenge me to an all you can eat right? Well put your food where your mouth is!" she challenged.  
"I'm in for this too," said Vivian rubbing her hands together.  
"Leave food for other people...you three black holes," said Tony.

Jordan smiled.

"That's why I cooked more than we needed to because I had a feeling this would happen...so now that the table has been set...LET US BEGIN!" he said.

Doan, Lily, Jordan and Vivian stepped away from the rest of the group, sitting at another table with food set out on it.

"Those pigs are gonna make us all look like we're fasting..." sighed Jenny.  
"It'll be fun to watch Lily beat all of them; she really doesn't stop eating from what I've seen," said Gary.

Jenny felt a finger on her shoulder and she turned around to see Justin, nervously scratching the back of his head.

"Would you mind helping me set up the sound system? Ajani's still taking a nap and he asked me to..." he asked.

Jenny smiled at him and followed him into the living room.

"Where's Carrie and Paul?" asked Vanna.  
"Disappeared...assuming they're still on the beach after the second song of musical chairs," replied Gary.  
"After Carrie dropped on Paul's lap? It's like the tension between them can be cut with a knife..." said Flora rolling her eyes.

Raina laughed softly.

"Where's Anson Raina? Aren't you supposed to be with him right now?" asked Vanna.

Raina shook her head.

"He went to take a nap; he didn't really sleep well last night," she explained.  
"Why?" asked Vanna.  
"He stayed up all night doing three papers for next week so...he's very tired but he'll be down for the party at 8," said  
"Oh wow...dedication right there,"

A glass pinging brought everyone's attention to Tony, who was smiling with Lisa beside him.

"So now that we're all here! I'd like to thank everyone for coming," he began.

He then turned to Flora for a moment before looking at Lily.

"I thought this would be a nice fun treat for all of you considering how tough a semester it's been and well...who doesn't love a little fun in the sun since we _are_ in Hawaii after all?"

Everyone began to clap excitedly until Tony raised the glass and his hand, silencing the uproar.

"Now that we're all set...LET THE FESTIVITIES BEGIN!"


	8. Baybreeze

**(A/N): Chapter 7!**

**This was actually supposed to be one hell of a long chapter but I decided to split it up into three chapters instead; I have a policy against writing very long chapters (my longest to date is 10,000 – 12,000 words but that was mostly because I didn't see how breaking it into pieces would work out). I'll be shooting out the next two or three chapters pretty quickly depending on how quickly I can snip the content off; it's already written but just being formatted to allow the splits make sense.**

**With that out of the way, I have to let everyone know this. This story was originally on fictionpress but as a result of some really try hard reviewers who just could not understand that this story was written mostly for fun, I decided to transfer it over here to fanfiction because at least here, you guys understand that sometimes, you just wanna write something and have fun with it. That's why so much of this story went up so quickly; I had written all of it beforehand and I simply transferred it all.**

**With all of this out of the way, I'm gonna give you all a warning right now. The next three chapters are gonna be very sappy romance as well as containing some sexual content (and some much requested fan service). If this isn't your type of thing, turn back right now and just know that everyone enjoyed themselves that night…thoroughly. Go ahead and wait till Chapter 10 if you want to cut out all of the sappy stuff. You have been warned!**

* * *

**FINAL WARNING:**

**If you do not like sappy romance or emotional love scenes, skip the next three chapters and know that everyone had a good night and ships have set sail.**

* * *

**Chapter 7: Baybreeze**

* * *

**Later That Night**

"What kind of sick monster are you…" gasped Doan.

I shrugged and snickered.

"I'm…really impressed that you did that," said Jordan.  
"I told you that I can eat a lot…why didn't you believe me?"

I felt a hand on my shoulder and I turned to see Gary shaking his head.

"I told you all that it was no contest from day one…no one can out eat this endless void right here," he said.

I laughed again.

"Believe me now?" I asked.  
"Alright Lily…you get your victory today…but to chew through three whole chickens, twenty-two festivals, four slices of cheesecake and then drink two of the two liter sodas that we have here? You're **NOT** human," said Jordan.

I snickered softly.

"Of course not…I _am_ the **food demon** after all," I said.

Flora tugged on her brother's shirt.

"Aren't you gonna keep your word…and sing tonight?" she asked.

Jordan looked around at all of us…with a _scared_ face?

"And you had to bring that up…because?" he sighed.  
"Because I wanna hear my big brother sing," replied Flora with a smile.

I smiled evilly.

"You know you wanna sing for the ladies here…don't you?" I teased.

Jordan rolled his eyes and rose to his feet.

"Time to get to my job of being the bartender..." he said.

Without a further word, he walked to the other side of the room and began to set out glasses. Flora sighed deeply.

"Who's next?" asked Flora.

After hearing most people sing a song at least once, it really seemed to be time to hear Doan again; everyone really seemed to love her voice. It was really funny watching some of the drunken men sing silly songs like _The Power Rangers Theme_ or even Rick Astley's infamous _Never_ _Gonna Give You Up_ but what really caught my attention was when Gary volunteered to sing a song. I could tell that he had a few drinks; he wasn't walking all that straight but he still made it to the microphone. Ajani approached him and whispered something into his ear before nodding and returning to the computer to set the song to play.

"I'm really sorry if I rupture your ear drums...but I'll give it a go since everyone else has yeah?" he said.

I smiled brightly as Flora handed him the microphone and stepped away. A familiar beat started to play until I recognized the guitar chords.

_"He would pick **this** song...who would've thought an asshole like him could actually be somewhat romantic,"_

"If you all know the song, feel free to sing along so I don't sound like a dying walrus yeah?" he said nervously.

I could tell his heart was going a mile a minute from the expression on his face and the way his legs refused to stay still. I couldn't blame him; everyone was watching, including the girl he liked.

_"Considering how much he loves to rap...guess I shouldn't be surprised that he chose Space Bound,"_

He took a deep breath and began to rap and surprisingly...he was doing well. He didn't miss a single word and even though his accent made it sound a little different, he was really holding his own.

_"Well...he's been practicing a lot..."_

After the first verse, everyone began to sing along with the hook, removing the strain of him having to sing it and waste more of his already shallow breaths. Even I couldn't help but join in as he once again broke into a smooth pace, getting all the way to the end after one more joining of the crowd for the hook. As the song finally closed out, he looked towards me.

"Don't think I need to tell everyone who that was for...thank you," he said bowing.

I couldn't help but start to clap, despite how red my face probably looked judging from all the heat. It's a really harsh song but I knew that the second verse was really what he wanted me to hear; he always does whatever it takes and he's totally a different a person when he's around just me...something I'm both thankful for and regretful of.

"Next! Come on now! Don't be shy!" cheered Flora.

After a few moments, I noticed that Annabelle had reached the bar counter and raised up Jordan's hand.

"Let the bartender sing a song! He hasn't sang the entire night and I'm getting tired of him hiding," she groaned.

Her voice definitely betrayed her state of mind; on the outside she seemed to be having a blast but her current state of mind? Wasted; she had **a lot** to drink tonight. Jordan sighed deeply as he put the cloth in his hand down and approached Flora.

"I guess since I haven't gone even once...I'll just do it and get it over with," he said.

I clasped my hands together and watched him, Gary joining me after finding his way back to the couch. Jordan whispered a few words to Flora and Ajani and stepped up to the microphone.

"You guys should know this one...and like Gary before me, please sing along so I don't sound like a car wreck..." he sighed.

**~ o ~**

It felt good to get him out of his shell right there; this past month really made me see the kind of walls that he built up around himself not just for people but also for his mind. Singing was something that I knew he liked to do at times but he just wouldn't grow a pair to sing to anyone...only when he was by himself. After seeing his excess of 6000 songs, I was astonished that he never bothered to try his hand at karaoke; we were all friends and no one expects him to sound like Michael Jackson or something...I mean he's never been in training before.

The song soon began and my smile widened once I heard the familiar opening.

_"You Are Not Alone huh?...What a sweetheart,"_

"Want a drink Belle?"

I turned to see that Jocelyn had come up to the counter and was pouring herself a drink.

"Gimme whiskey on the rocks...but lots of ice," I replied.

Jocelyn nodded and quickly made the drinks as Jordan continued to sing. He didn't sound at all like a master of the song...but he definitely had some potential. His untrained voice couldn't reach a lot of the tones and notes that the King Of Pop himself could but at the same time...**very few** people can. The fact he knew the whole song by heart could only mean that it had some kind of deeper meaning to it. He was also deathly nervous; he wasn't used to being around so many people and he was a loner by nature. I could imagine the millions of miles his heart was running every minute the song dragged on but he closed his eyes, getting lost in the music and for some reason...sounded better.

I noticed that he looked towards Jocelyn and I before smiling as he finally finished the song.

_"He gave it a try and least...and I've certainly heard **much** worse,"_

A round of applause followed his performance as he returned to the counter to face me.

"Haven't you had enough tonight?" he asked.

I snickered softly.

"I don't get to go all out very often so let me enjoy myself," I said rolling my eyes.

He sighed and nodded.

"Just don't get wasted to the point where we have to scrape you off the floor...alright?" he asked.

I felt a smile creep onto my face as I looked at Jocelyn, who was paying attention to the next person singing.

"Come with me...I want to tell you something," I whispered.

Jordan raised his eyebrow but before he could object, I grabbed his hand and dragged him off.

* * *

**Several Songs Later**

The intense beat that followed this song inspired many to go on the dance floor. I laughed softly as I took another gulp of water...until Justin moved in front of me.

"You gonna go dance?"

I looked at him as if he were insane.

"Don't you know me by now?" I asked.

He gestured to the crowd and I realized that Doan had disappeared from her spot with her third drink of the night now empty. I looked on in amazement as surely enough, she and Vivian were amongst the crowd that was dancing. I blushed at the thought of actually going out there to join in on the fun...until I noticed Carrie and Paul. Rather than dancing, they had found a quiet corner to have to themselves...and _boy_ were the two of them making use of it.

_"Who'd have thought that all it would take to get those two together would be to go to a party and get them alone for a couple of hours..."_

Much to my surprise, Andre sat beside me.

"...Think I'm about at my limit right now...it's getting pretty hard to see," he groaned.

I shook my head.

"Where's Vanna?" I asked.  
"In the couch passed out...probably gonna carry her upstairs soon if she doesn't wake up," he replied.

Suddenly, I felt arms around my neck and a head crashed down onto my shoulder.

**"JENNY! WHY AREN'T YOU ON THE FLOOR DANCING!"**

I rolled my eyes as I realized the person who was now using me as a crutch...Raina. I guess this is what happens when she actually goes over her three drink limit.

**"COME ON JENNY! MOVE THAT BODY!"**

I shook my head.

"What happened to Anson?" I asked.  
"He went to sleep; he had a headache so I decided to stay here," she replied.

I sighed deeply; poor guy had such a poor tolerance of it all. Justin put a hand on my shoulder and guided me away from my crazy friend.

"How about when the songs get a bit slower...we have a dance?" he asked.

I blushed profusely at the sincere look on his face but smiled anyway; he was so well-mannered.

"Sure...now would you be so kind as to make me a drink?"  
"What do you want?" Sweet? Sour? Bitter?"

I put a hand to my chin and then shrugged.

"Surprise me,"

* * *

**Several Songs Later**

"This beat is fucking **SICK**! Let's dance!" she squealed.

She shoved the glass she had down the table and grabbed my hand.

"Haven't you had enough already?" I asked rolling my eyes.

Vivian shook her head.

"You and I haven't danced the entire night...I've had five shots of tequila and a bunch of other drinks that Jordan was kind enough to make for me...you're dancing right now because you and I both know that once we get back to school, we aren't coming out of our dorms unless it's for food," she growled.

I sighed deeply; it really sucked sometimes to do seven classes at once, not to mention being a double major in Music and History. For Vivian, she didn't really go to these kinds of things often and considering that she's been my best friend for such a long time...it felt horrible to just spoil her fun.

"Alright...let me finish my drink at least," I groaned.

Jordan really let loose on her; she pestered him the entire night for drinks and he tried to tone it down; she didn't have the highest tolerance after all. Right now, her usual slightly pale skin was flushed pink and those piercing eyes of hers were so dilated, I was tempted to say that she was high AND drunk at the same time. I felt myself reaching that point as well; my limit was about two drinks and the one I was about to finish would be my third.

_"This isn't gonna end well...but I guess this won't happen often so I'd might as well live it up...I mean at least it's with her and no one else right?"_

I looked at the blue drink in my glass and sighed.

_"Thanks for encouraging me to have a good night after all the singing and games...guess it really has been a while since I've cut loose,"_

I finished the drink in one swallow and let out a heavy breath.

_"At least I'll have fun now...I pray to god I don't get a hangover,"_

Vivian grabbed my hand and dragged us both to the floor and almost as if on cue, the beat started to get very intense. I had no idea why it suddenly felt so good to let go; I would ordinarily never dance at something like this but...having her right in front of me just seemed to take the edge off.

"Come on Doan...let it go and just move!" she cheered.

Finally letting my pride go, most likely due to the ever increasing intoxication from all the drinks I've had tonight, I allowed my body to move with the beat and soon, I was completely lost in the music. Nothing else mattered at that point onward...all that was going through my head was enjoying myself with my best friend at my side.

I felt her body grind against mine and for some reason...I didn't push her away. I was so into the music that I found my hands traveling to her waist and encouraging her to continue. As if she were waiting for me, she turned around and faced me.

"Don't get mad..." she whispered.  
"For w-"

I didn't even get to finish my sentence as she shoved her lips into mine. My immediate instinct was to yelp loudly but for some reason...I didn't. I didn't even make a sound. I stood there, frozen as my best friend kissed me for an unknown reason.

_"Why...am I not pushing her away?...And why does this feel so good?"_

I did the only natural thing after that...I kissed her back.

* * *

**Meanwhile- The Kitchen**

"Is there a reason you're not out there enjoying yourself?" she asked.

I turned to see that Lixy had entered the room. I had taken refuge in the kitchen in order to sober up; seven shots of tequila was really beginning to have a lasting effect on me.

"Dancing's never been my kind of thing and well...I drank the most shots out of any of the guys," I replied.

She smiled and shook her head.

"Considering the nice people outside and how drunk everyone is now...is this really the time to worry about what you _wouldn't_ do? she asked.

I opened my mouth to answer until I noticed her eyes. Lixy was by no means a a heavyweight when it came to drinking so now of all times, I had to be sure she was okay because if she wasn't, I had to get her into a bed before she starts puking all over the place.

**~ o ~**

"Are you alright? Your pupils are dilated," he asked.

I shook my head in slight impatience but understanding; that was typical Ji. I knew he went easy on me with the drinks when we played that game of Devil's Circle. He refrained from drinking too much once he bound me to him with an eight. Even though I was a little drunk myself, I positively loved that he thought of me when he was playing; I wasn't really able to hold my alcohol well so even though I didn't really have more than about three drinks, I was quite buzzed. I knew that I wasn't anywhere near drunk however because I danced most of it off in addition to drinking a lot of water to ensure I didn't go off the deep end.

I actually didn't notice that he was in the kitchen until he disappeared from the cards table. We didn't really dance much because he always told me that he preferred the slower kind of songs. At this rate however, I doubt we'd be doing any sort of dancing tonight, especially for him because he was pretty gone right now.

"Do you ever stop being concerned for me?" I asked with a soft laugh.

He turned away but I could've sworn I saw signs of a blush.

"...I'm not used to being the one taking care of you because you always do it for me," he said softly.

I could tell that it was a hard internal battle inside of him; often times, he was the one doing stupid things and getting hurt or something and I would always be the one to ensure everything was alright with him. He never enraged me with anything he did...even if he sometimes came off as a cocky asshole.

"Are you getting soft on me Mr. Choi?" I teased.

He rolled his eyes.

"Are you going to go back outside to dance? At this rate...I might just go to sleep instead of going back because that tequila is really catching up to me" he groaned.

I shrugged.

"I wouldn't mind some sleep...especially after all that food I just ate," I replied.

He shook his head.

"Everyone in this place eats like a swarm of locusts...I'll never understand how you girls keep that grade of shape when you all eat more than several men," he said shaking his head.

I snickered softly.

"Jealous?" I asked.

If there was one thing Ji was good at, it was catching me off guard and he did just that when he suddenly stood up and trapped me between a wall and his body, using an arm to ensure that I couldn't escape. Unlike before however, I didn't feel even remotely nervous; alcohol had a way of making me a lot bolder than I usually was. I simply smiled at him before grabbing fistfuls of his shirt.

"Not when I'm intoxicated...you're gonna have to do better than that," I whispered.

Ji smiled at me.

"I like it when you're drunk...it makes doing _this_ a lot easier..."

He lifted me into his arms almost effortlessly and pressed me against the wall, holding me just slightly above himself.

"Bedroom...not really keen on people seeing us..." I whispered.  
"Your wish is my command," he replied.

I have no idea how he turned his grip from cradling to me getting over his shoulder but he somehow did. I laughed loudly as he carried me off to our room.

* * *

**Meanwhile- The Pool Area**

The strikingly familiar sound of a song I knew all too well started to play. I heard Gary curse softly beneath his breath as he looked away from me. I gestured him to give me a bottle of water and he did, still looking away from me.

"Why are you so nervous?" I asked.

He was silent for a few moments as he cleared his throat and prepared to sing. Much to my astonishment, he began to hum to the song. He was blushing profusely.

"...Don't laugh at me...not used to this kind of thing yet," he groaned.

I felt a blush of my own creep in. I looked around and saw that a few faces were looking at us but at the moment, I didn't give a damn; he mustered the courage to ask me.

"I thought you said you'd never sing for me ever?" I asked.

He looked at me with a heart-meltingly sincere stare.

"I can't think of another person to try it with than with you," he said.

He held out a hand to me. If my face wasn't already red, it had to have been a tomato. I smiled and placed my hand in his as he led me to a more open area for us to dance in. I heard him swallow loudly as he looked at me, hoping that I would teach him what to do. I shook my head and directed his hands to my waist before leaning in more for a closer dance.

**~ o ~**

_"How the **fuck** does Ajani know the right songs to play...I've heard this song so many fucking times it's burned into my memory..."_

I sighed inwardly to myself.

_"Sound Of The Drums By Armin Van Buuren...Lily loves this song,"_

I slowly rocked with her in my arms, doing my very best to ignore the possible glances from the others. A few cheers and wolf whistles followed and I swallowed hard, trying desperately to keep my heart from jumping through my ribs. As if in response to my tension, Lily placed her head on my shoulder and hugged me.

"Ignore them...focus on me," she whispered.

The two minutes of piano music felt like gloriously long hours; it was really uplifting. I looked at Lily and smiled at the calm and happy look on her face; it was really about time she got some relaxation in because she worked so damn hard between medical school, student council duties and dealing with me. It didn't help that she had a little trouble sleeping thanks to nightmares of her past life at home when her parents and her fought.

I began to sing again and for some reason...I didn't feel ashamed. I didn't feel intimidated and nothing else mattered...nothing but the girl in my arms right here and now.

"You don't sound as bad as you think," she whispered.

I leaned away and shook my head.

"Yet another thing you can get me to do...sometimes I wonder what I _won't _do for you," I sighed.

Much to my astonishment, she leaned up and kissed my cheek.

"You're not so much of an asshole when you're with me...if anything, you're very sweet," she said.

I lowered myself to the bench and grabbed her hand before pulling her onto me. It was probably a stupid move but for some reason...I just had to know how she would react. Once our lips met, waited for the hard slap to follow my bold move but much to my surprise...it never came. Instead, she wrapped her arms around my neck and kissed back.

* * *

**Meanwhile- The Beach**

"...I had no idea she was so broken up by that," I said.  
"That she was...I'd be pretty sad if I got a D on a paper that you looked over twice," she replied.

I looked down as I turned towards the house.

"She doesn't get a lot of sleep for some reason so I guess that might be the reason," I suggested.  
"She doesn't spend a lot of time on Skype...so I don't know what she's doing," replied Belle.

I put a hand on her shoulder.

"You're doing all you can for your sister…that's something I deeply admire about you; even though you and her don't exactly fit the definition of close siblings, you always look out for her…that's a far cry from others I've seen," I said.

She looked at me with a slight smile, showing that she was very appreciative of my words.

"You're remarkably nice for a guy I met less than a month ago…it amazes me as to how you're still single after all the time you've spent at UOA," she said.

I smiled but slowly shook my head.

"I've never really dedicated myself to that aspect of life," I replied.

I shook my head but her hand shot out and grabbed mine.

"Look...I know what's going through your head," she said.

I raised an eyebrow.

"What're you talking about Belle?" I replied.  
"Don't play dumb Jordan...I see the way you look at Jocelyn," she replied.

My eyes narrowed as I shook my head.

"I don't know what you're talking about; she's already taken," I replied.

Belle looked at me as if in disbelief.

"I saw her in the gym with some guy I've never seen before...believe me, I know she's taken," I said.

Belle shook her head.

"Did it hurt?" she asked.

I shook my head.

"I'm used to that kind of pain so it didn't surprise me at all," I replied.  
"Is that why came with me with no qualms at all?" she asked.

My mind froze for a moment; I couldn't deny that there was some kind of thing I had for Jocelyn that I couldn't let go no matter how hard I tried but whenever I was teaching Belle about essay writing, we had such a tremendous amount of fun that it felt a lot more like hanging out than actually teaching. We got along so well that a lot of people were even questioning her about being with me...which she obviously denies; she wasn't exactly one to trust men very easily.

"Are you saying that I wouldn't have come out here with you if I didn't know Jocelyn was already taken?" I asked.

**~ o ~**

Typical man; gonna try and play it off as if it were me all along.

"That's exactly what I'm saying," I replied.

Jordan shook his head.

"How much do I talk to you in comparison to her?" he asked.  
"Probably more?" I replied rolling my eyes.  
"Not even close,"

He handed me his phone after unlocking it and pressed the messages app to show me what was supposed to be proof.

"I haven't sent her a message in a nearly a week apart from telling her that I'm ready for tutoring...in comparison to you, how is there even a competition?" he said.

It was then that I realized that he really did speak to me the most; I had nearly 600 messages under my name while Jocelyn had a mere 87. In fact, the only other people he spoke to at all were Ajani, Lily, Carrie and Flora.

"So...you don't like her?" I asked.  
'She's a good friend but I stopped the moment I saw her in the gym...actually, that's a lie, I stopped about the fourth day I started tutoring her," he replied.

I raised an eyebrow.

"Why the change of heart?" I asked.  
"If there's one thing I'm good at seeing, it's when I've been friend zoned, not to mention when it's futile to compete with someone who is infinitely better than me in just about every way," he replied.

I rolled my eyes and shoved him to the sand.

"Your pessimism pisses me off," I growled.

He didn't even seem remotely fazed at the gesture as he continued to look at me.

"You're such a nice guy, always so humble about everything you do and say and you just prefer to sit there and be a sideshow...why don't you ever take matters into your own hands?" I snapped.

I had no idea why my voice grew so venomous but he against didn't really seem fazed.

"You're sure as hell aren't ugly either, in fact...I'd say you're kind of..._cute_,"

My eyes shut tightly.

_"What the fuck is wrong with me...why am I being so honest with him? I should be furious because he didn't like me at all...despite all the signs I gave him at our study sessions and even the way I just tease him...why the hell do I still care? I'd have moved on ordinarily...but why can't I do that now?!"_

I didn't noticed that he got to his feet and he was already in front of me, his hand gently gripping mine.

"...I'm not the smoothest bullet in the chamber and I'm very slow when it comes to these things...despite me writing about all of this, I'm actually quite a terrible romantic," he said laughing nervously.

He sighed softly.

"I understand my flaws but I've just never been good with this emotional stuff…but I guess I'd might as well say all of this now since we're on the topic," he said.

He looked at me with very sincere eyes.

"I'm not a decisive man because most of my life was spent in solitude…but I'll say that you've undoubtedly been the one who's helped me tear down my walls the most of everyone I've met so far,"

I rolled my eyes and scoffed.

"You're just saying that," I said.  
"Am I? Do you really think that I would ordinarily go to a place like that Celtic museum unless you coaxed me? No one gets me to do things readily apart from Lily and Flora…you give yourself less credit than you deserve," he said.

I again shook my head.

"Sure…next I suppose you'll say you've dreamt about me?" I asked rolling my eyes.

He responded by pulling a book from his jacket and handing it to me after turning to a page.

"See for yourself," he replied.

The detail he wrote…the situation he was in. All of it seemed so very feasible. He described me in such exceptional detail that it was almost as if he were trying to write a movie with me as the only actor. Everything, from the way he described my hair down to the manner in which I spoke my words…it was so spot on that it actually scared me a little.

"You already know I keep a dream journal of everything…so you know that everything I write in here, it's directly from my dreams and I'm not one to hide details," he said.  
"This…this is so detailed…why do you do this?" I asked.

He looked down at the sand as he invited me to sit with him.

"All my life, I've been searching for a purpose because when I lived with my parents, I didn't really have my own; they were the ones who controlled essentially everything that I did until I tried my hand at writing…then I knew I found my deepest passion which brings us to where we are now," he explained.

He looked at me with sincere eyes.

"I haven't been honest with you and I curse myself for that…but I've had a deep admiration for the way you approach your life; you do exactly what you want to do and nothing else…I wish I knew that kind of freedom when I was younger," he said.

I had no idea why I was listening to him because guys always told me some kind of sick sob story but for some reason…I believed him. He didn't have any reason to lie to me and if anything…him lying to me would probably hurt him a lot more than it would me because he's definitely the type to always blame himself rather than others.

I couldn't deny that I really admired him…and he has never mistreated me nor has he ever been mean to me apart from a few pokes of fun. He was always really sweet as well…going so far as to drive me to Starbucks in his car whenever we didn't want to go to the library or helping me with other things apart from essays.

"I guess it'd be really stupid for me to say that I've been looking at you more than I have her…I guess you just haven't noticed it all," he said.  
"How would I not?"  
"Do you really think I come to these sessions to teach you a subject that you're already very good at?"

I smiled at him.

"Do you think I really need the help?" I replied.

He looked at me with a smirk on his face.

"I dunno…you're pretty bad at formatting these things and you do have a lot of typos sometimes," he said.

I punched him playfully in the stomach.

"I thought you weren't capable of being mean?" I asked with a pout.  
"I thought you weren't capable of taking everything I say seriously?"

His snide remark caused me to roll my eyes but once I looked back at him, he placed his hand on my cheek, freezing me in my tracks.

"You know…you're a really beautiful woman and I'm astonished that you aren't already taken," he said.  
"…Maybe I'm waiting for someone to sweep me off my feet?" I replied.

He nodded and looked towards the water.

"I've never been one to make promises like this…but I'll try anyways because what I'm about to do right now is the most selfish thing I'll ever do," he said.

He turned to me before holding both my hands in his.

"I'm not perfect, no human being is but I know that I'm willing to do my absolute best to make you smile…I want to be there for you and I want to care for you because beneath that tough exterior lies a very troubled soul and I know what it's like to feel that kind of hardship…it's what made me the person I am today," he began.

He let out a breath, clearly extremely nervous at what he was saying to me.

"I've never done this kind of thing before…I don't really count the first relationship I had because well…you know how it ended," he sighed.

I sighed softly in response; I never could understand why parents thought race and skin color was such an important factor for their child's significant other and when he told me that, I couldn't help but feel for him; he gave up his own happiness to give her a better family life and that is not at all something I could say many people would do…in fact, I don't think I knew a single person who could do that without a second thought.

"I…I've thought a lot about you…about all of these things and even though I'm not exactly the most ideal person to try and be _that_ man, it doesn't make me any less daunted to try my best to be," he said.

I blushed furiously at his words.

"It hasn't been a long time…which is exactly why this is so crazy but you're the only one I can think of who makes me that comfortable…to makes me feel as if I can always be myself even if I happen to get a punch to the gut or a slap to the cheek…I feel most like myself when I'm around you and that is not something I can say about many," he said.

I shook my head vigorously, fighting the flood of emotions that suddenly decided to show themselves in my mind.

_"…Why am I believing him? Why does this sound so appealing…why the hell do I want to hold him close and not let him go?"_

He released my hands.

"I like you…Belle," he whispered.

I instinctively flinched at hearing those three words as I turned away. What felt like a week passing by in mere moments followed his statement and it took everything within me not to run away from him; I was probably just as bad, if not worse than he was with these emotions. I hadn't liked someone like this at all since I arrived at UOA and I didn't really try to look…but this guy just appeared out of nowhere and really showed me that I could trust him. He knew what was wrong with me, he was fully aware of my flaws but he still didn't care; he just wanted to try his best to be the one to break my distrust of men.

I swallowed hard and looked up to see that his eyes had narrowed so much, they appeared as slits. He appeared to be completely zoned out, not even noticing my gaze as he looked down at the sand. I couldn't imagine the battle within his mind right now.

**~ o ~**

_"I tried…I guess now I can tell Lily that I did my best but it just wasn't good enough to convince her,"_

I finally came to my senses as I began to rise to my feet but much to my surprise, Belle rushed forward and tackled me back to the sand. I looked on in confusion until I saw her face…which was _angry_.

"You fucking pest…why do you have to be so sweet?" she growled.

She squeezed her eyes shut, causing welled up to tears fall out of them.

"You've barely known me for a month…but yet still I can't help but think about you…it makes no fucking sense…"

She continued to vent her anger but I knew that deep down, she was trying to keep the happiness out. She was a loner for most of her life and having someone come into it was a completely alien experience for her…now it was her turn to be taken care of.

"I've known guys for years who aren't even half as nice and kind as you…why the fuck do you have to be such a good person…how the hell can I say no to someone who's done literally _nothing_ wrong?"

I leaned up and pushed her off of me, putting her to her knees as she continued to sob in frustration.

"You're…you're so sweet to me and you never ask for anything in return…that's so fucking rare to see in men; chivalry isn't at all dead for you…in fact, it's the very code you live by and for that reason…I can't help but think about you so much,"

My heart sped up greatly and I took my chance. I placed my hands on both her arms, causing her to open her eyes as I leaned forward and kissed her. I felt her flinch in my grasp.

**~ o ~**

My eyes shot open, wider than any previous point I had felt until now. His kiss was so gentle…so sincere…it was so comfortable that I couldn't help but kiss back.

_"He…he must've thought about that for weeks…there's no way he could bring himself to do something like this without a lot of premeditation…don't make me regret this…"_

He backed away from me after a few seconds as I looked at him, still in shock that he was bold enough to do that. The look on my face seemed to have scared him slightly.

"I…I'm sorry…I didn't mean to-"

I didn't give him a chance to say another syllable as I shoved him onto the sand and kissed him once more.


	9. Sex On The Beach

**(A/N): Chapter 8.**

**Separated this from 7 mainly because there's more detailed love scenes in this chapter than the other one. Let's get right back to it without breaking stride shall we?**

* * *

**Chapter 8: Sex On The Beach**

* * *

**Later That Night- Tony And Lisa's Room**

"Everyone enjoyed themselves?" I asked.

Tony murmured loudly, clearly still having a stomachache from all the drinking.

"I warned you not to drink on an empty stomach," I sang sarcastically.

He shook his head as I joined him in the bed, sitting beside his groaning form that was in that position for the past hour. I shook my head and laughed softly.

"Everyone alright?" he asked.  
"They all had a bit too much...I feel kind of bad for letting them cut so loose," I replied scratching the back of my head.

Tony shook his head and laughed softly.

"The plan worked…besides that, everyone having a good time was the whole purpose of this trip so tomorrow will be nice and calm…I don't think I'm touching alcohol for a while though," he said laughing heartily.

I shrugged; I didn't really drink any at all apart from a Baybreeze that Jordan made for me but I asked him to go easy on the alcohol; I was by no means a heavyweight.

"Had a good time?" I asked.  
"I should be asking you that," he replied.

I shrugged once more.

"The party had a really nice vibe to it…and everyone here is actually familiar with each other in some shape or another so I guess it really was a good night," I replied.

Tony sat up and smiled, seemingly over his stomachache.

**~ o ~**

I gave Lisa suggestive wink, causing her to blush profusely.

"Why are you still blushing? It's been a while since we starting dating…and I mean it's not like I've never done that to you before," I said.

Lisa shook her head and pointed at me and it was only then that I realized why; I was completely undressed apart from the boxers I had on. I nervously scratched the back of my head.

"My bad…completely forgot that I lost the shirt and pants before I passed out a while ago," I said.

I turned to the window and looked out of it, giving her time to change into her sleepwear. Once she did, she climbed into the bed with me and I allowed her to snuggle right beside me. I soon began to feel sleep takeover until I felt her shuffle. I looked towards her to see that she was on her elbows, looking right at me.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

She shook her head.

"I'm just glad you're being such a good person to everyone…to think that not too long ago, you were just some cocky idiot," she replied.

I rolled my eyes.

"...That hurts so much," I replied sarcastically.

She snickered softly and flicked me in the forehead.

"It takes a lot more than that to hurt the Tony Do I know," she replied.

I smiled at her as I leaned forward to put my hand to her chin, lifting it to face me.

"You've helped make it so much easier to do my job…you know how much I appreciate you right?" I said soothingly.

She looked deep into my eyes, scanning for signs of sarcasm but found none.

"I mean every word…and I'm not just saying that because you're my girlfriend," I said solemnly.

She smiled slightly before closing her eyes and leaning forward. I kissed her deeply and she responded by crawling on top of me and laying down. I had no idea why this was escalating so quickly; I had ended up in situations like this with her so many times and before I knew it, both our shirts found themselves on the floor.

_"Crimson lace?...that's looks **really **good on her..."_

My brain entered autopilot and after a few very heated minutes of tossing, turning and the absolute most intense kissing of my life, I forced myself to stop; things were getting too intense. She however didn't seem at all offended by the pace...in fact, I'd say she _wants_ it to continue. I closed my eyes and let out a deep sigh.

_"As amazing as that would be...now's not the time,"_

I attempted to back away but she held my hand, shaking her head.

"If you think I'm drunk...think again," she said.

My eyes widened.

"You...want to..." I whispered.

I got my answer when she blew out the candle and lay back down on me, laughing softly at what was clearly my still innocent mind trying to be chivalrous.

"Wasn't it obvious before?" she said with a wink.

I scratched the back of my head nervously but she again put her hand on mine.

"Don't worry about outside influences; you know I would _never_ let you lay a hand on me unless I wanted you to," she said.

I sucked in a heavy breath, my heart now going so insane that it pounded painfully against my ribs. A million and one reasons entered my brain for not doing this, the most important reason being that now of all times wasn't..._safe_. The look in her eyes however...took away my worries. I reached for my wallet and removed the one thing that could set my mind at ease with this. I turned back to her before smiling.

Let's just say the rest of that night...was really...**really** memorable.

* * *

**Meanwhile- The Student's Villa, The Living Room**

I sighed deeply as I turned off the kettle.

_"Why am I so damn tired...I'm **supposed** to be nocturnal…"_

"Are you okay Zinnia?"

I turned to see that Katherine had come in from the party and was now looking at me with a smile. I shrugged.

"Alcohol's still clearing up…want some tea?" I asked.  
"Sure…that sounds really good," she replied.

I poured two mugs full of water and dropped the tea bags into them. I picked them both up as I sat beside her at the coffee table before handing her one of the cups. She gratefully accepted it as she took a sip, sighing in deep satisfaction at her first non-alcoholic drink of the night.

"We went _really_ overboard…think we made full use of that budget Tony managed to get for this trip," she said.  
"Yeah…everyone got _fucked_ up tonight," I replied.

Katherine sighed.

"Hopefully not many of them will wake up with horrible hangovers or the beach thing isn't really gonna work," she mused.

I nodded in agreement.

"At the very least, a lot of people got together tonight," I said.

Katherine raised an eyebrow.

"What do you mean?" she asked.  
"Jenny and Justin seem really into each other and I know the only reason the two of them aren't already dating is because they just met…but I'm positive Justin has her number and Facebook already," I said.

Katherine nodded.

"Lily told me that Annabelle and Jordan disappeared at some point into the party so I can only conclude that they're off tying their knots," I said.  
"I always thought he was going for Jocelyn," said Katherine.

I shook my head.

"Jordan saw her in the gym with some guy…not sure who he is but it was enough to get him to turn it all off," I explained.  
"…That couldn't have been easy to see, especially since he tried so hard to get her attention," said Katherine.  
"He's too nice of a guy to not get noticed compared to a lot of assholes out there…but I guess she just wasn't that into him after all," I said.

I looked up at the ceiling.

"I saw Carrie and Paul by the pool area just before I left so I'm pretty sure they're a thing now…if not very close to it," I continued.  
"Carrie's such a sweet girl…I'm really happy for her," she said.

I nodded in agreement; Carrie was one of the only reasons why Jordan and Flora were still so sane after all of the crap that's happened to them so for her to be happy now, she totally deserved it.

"She's had a thing for that guy for a **while**," I said shrugging.  
"He's pretty good looking…though he's a bit quiet for someone who's supposed to be a _hottie_,"

The manner in which that last word rolled off her tongue made me spit out a little of the tea in my mouth.

"I actually didn't know that Anson and Raina were a thing until tonight; she does a really good job of hiding it all," I said.  
"Raina's so adorable…that guy better treat her right or Flora's gonna eat his soul," said Katherine.  
"Oh boy will she…speaking of which, she broke up with Cody," I said.

Katherine's eyes widened.

"Why?" she asked.  
"Flora's just a bit scared that their friendship would take a turn for the worst; Cody's been there since Jordan left her four years ago and he was one of the only reasons she got through that phase of her life so I think it's for the greater good," I explained.  
"Wow…they were a _really_ cute couple though," she said.  
"They really were…but they're still really close to each other so no harm done I suppose," I said with a shrug.

I then thought to Gary and Lily but shook my head; I promised Lily that I wouldn't let my thoughts dwell on the two of them at any point during the night.

"Ji and Lixy disappeared too…as did Tony and Lisa so they're probably having fun right now," I said.  
"That's what happens when you're already a happy couple," said Katherine in a sing song voice.

My hand went to my chin.

"I don't think I missed anyone…so I guess everyone else just kind of sat there all forever alone," I said.  
"Poor Ajani; he really wanted to have some fun but he was stuck being DJ and didn't get to really have much of it," said Katherine.

I snickered softly.

"He signed up for it so he knew that he wouldn't get any alcohol to himself," I said with a shrug.  
"What happened to Kevin? Didn't he have someone?" asked Katherine.  
"No…he went back to campus because he wanted to work…left about half way through the party," I replied.

Katherine shook her head.

"So much for a weekend of fun and no work…" she sighed.

Suddenly, her face lit up and she squealed.

"Did you see Doan and Vivian making out?" asked Katherine with a gasp.

My eyes opened wide.

"They did?!" I replied in astonishment.

Katherine began to laugh loudly.

"The two of them were so drunk that they started…it got really intense too until Jordan came back and took them both to their room," replied Katherine.  
"How intense?" I asked.  
"The two of them moved from the dance floor and went into one of the bedrooms in the villa and were going at it like a real couple…but I guess Jordan didn't really care for modesty considering how much they drank and the embarrassment he saved them if anyone found them in their underwear in that room the next morning," she said.

I blushed profusely; Doan Le **and** Vivian Bui in _underwear_?

"…Violet's a really nice color on Vivian and Doan's red?...sometimes I question if I'm bisexual or not," said Katherine.

I laughed softly.

"No one knows much about you because you're so quiet…not even me," I said.

Katherine sighed softly and looked at me for a moment before taking a large gulp of her tea.

**~ o ~**

I shook my head free of the embarrassment.

_"Nothing's gonna happen...I'm just going to show her that I'm grateful for being with me throughout all of the night when she could've been finding someone amongst all the single men to be with…"_

My thoughts immediately drifted back to the way she used to feel about some other guy; she was telling me about a previous experience she had but after hearing most of her life story…I couldn't help but feel sorry for her.

_"To be traumatized like that…that couldn't have been easy to go through and for it to be the reason why she distrusts all men? That can't be good for her self-esteem,"_

My hands unconsciously touched hers as she looked at me, curious about my intent.

_"Would…would it be wrong to show her how much I appreciate her company?"_

I felt myself blush as I made my way across the couch to her.

"You didn't really circulate yourself much tonight…was it because of me?" I asked.

Zinnia shook her head.

"You know me and guys already…I don't really trust them very much so I was more than content to spend the whole night with you," she replied.

I smiled.

"Thanks…I didn't really know many of them very well and considering that Jordan disappeared and Ajani was too busy to really be able to have some time with me, your company probably saved me from going to sleep very early tonight," I said.

Zinnia winked at me.

"What're friends for?" she replied.

That smile on her face…I have no idea why it suddenly became so detailed. I had spent a tremendous amount of time just sitting in her room and talking to her about everything…yet still, I hadn't seen her smile like this before. It was one of those genuine smiles when someone does a good deed and they were that damn proud of it.

My eyes began to wander elsewhere. Zinnia was dressed in form fitting jeans and a long sleeved shirt that was a little too big for her collarbone, leaving it hanging slightly and revealing it. Her hair was also fully let out and was a little wet; she had clearly just come out of the shower just before I got here. She didn't wear her glasses like she usually did and instead, just had a pinkish face from the drinks she had earlier. I had no idea why her appearance suddenly became such an important part of my field of vision.

_"…Am I thinking she looks...**appealing**?"_

I vaguely noticed her blushing profusely at me and she turned away slightly.

"You're...staring at me..." she whispered.

I shook my head free of my thoughts and swallowed hard.

"S-Sorry..." I stuttered.

She seemed suddenly interested in my gaze as she turned back to me.

"Do...you like what you see?" she asked.

I swallowed hard again and nervously raised a hand to the back of my head.

"Y-Y-You're really pretty Zinnia," he replied.

Her blush deepened as she smiled.

"You're better looking than me…you kidding? You're beautiful," she replied.

She smiled once more and for some reason…her lips appeared in much greater detail. It was as if my level of vision shifted from a regular TV to seeing something in high definition.

_"…Those look **very** kissable…"_

I began to rise to my feet but as the gods would have it, I completely forgot about the coffee table in front of me and hit my foot on it. Zinnia tried to cushion my inevitable fall and after a tumble of flailing limbs and awkward squeaks, we ended up tripping onto the couch. Zinnia fell right on top of me and I had no idea how physics worked so well to make this position look so compromising…but she was so close to me that I could feel her chest rise and fall with every breath and feel the air from her mouth whenever she exhaled.

"I-I-I'm sorry!" I stuttered.

Zinnia's blush practically turned her to a red Christmas ornament as she sat up, still unable to remove her eyes from mine. She didn't really seem to care that she had ended up in a compromising position with me; her concern about me falling clearly taking the reins of her attention. It was then that I realized that Zinnia's shirt had lowered even more with the fall, allowing me to see some of her cleavage and her black bra straps plainly.

_"Why is this happening…it's almost like someone's toying with us…what kind of god puts people in positions like this?"_

I swallowed hard as I tried to move but my limbs refused to listen to my brain. My legs grew cold, my arms refused to find life and the only thing that gave me a sign that I was still conscious was the intense beating of my heart, the tremendous heat in my cheeks and my eyes refusing to leave hers. Zinnia's had already put both her hands on either side of me, ensuring that any hope I had of escaping this situation was gone without me having to ask.

"Well…this is awkward," she whispered.

Her voice for some reason mesmerized me and her face turning the shade of pink it did made it seem as if she were intoxicated somehow.

_"Why...why am I not moving away...I'm supposed to...but why do I feel like...like I want this to happen?"_

I slowly began to close the distance.

"…I'm really curious about this…will you humor me?" I asked.

I leaned up to kiss her cheek but for some reason, she stumbled, causing me to miss completely and somehow…I ended up on her lips.

**~ o ~**

_"She...she has really nice lips...and she smells so good..."_

I lay completely motionless underneath her as Katherine really began to get into the kiss.

_"That stumble seemed...**convenient**...but I'd be lying if I said that I didn't want to do_ _this..."_

I felt her heart jump as one of my hands made its way to her cheek and after a few weeklong seconds, I gently pushed her away. Her blush was still intense but the grin on my face made it lessen; she had to have felt bad that she suddenly put me on the spot…but I didn't at all mind.

_"Was that really an accident? Or was it fate?"_

That warm sense of comfort returned again as she leaned in and kissed me once more. This time, I returned the kiss with equal enthusiasm. Unlike the previous one, we were really getting deep into this one; restless hands explored as much of our skin as we possibly could and much to my surprise, we even began to strip each other down to underwear. After a few moments, I felt Katherine pull away from me and her face had a clear look of fear.

"I...I'm sorry...this is wrong," she whispered.

I shook my head.

"There's nothing wrong with it…we're both single and who cares what other people think?" I replied.

She didn't seem at all convinced until I put my hand on her cheek.

"It's not wrong…I don't know any other way to prove that to you than to do this…"

**~ o ~**

Zinnia kissed me again but this time, she guided my hands to her newly exposed skin after she lost her shirt and jeans.

_"I guess it won't hurt to satisfy my curiosity…"_

Much to my surprise however, she somehow had the strength to push me onto the bed. She quickly pulled on one side of my shirt, pulling all the buttons in a fluid motion as she got on top of me. I didn't have the slightest interest in letting her take control but out of curiosity, I allowed her to do as she wished. I watched as she removed her jacket and then her shirt to reveal probably the sexiest set of underwear I had ever laid eyes upon.

It was just a shade above pink and of course since this was Zinnia after all, there was laces…_lots_ of glorious laces. What shocked me even more was that the underwear was in such good condition; there wasn't a clothing shop or tailor for **miles**. My mouth began to water as I imagined how the other half of the set would look once we reached there.

Her hands soon move. She started to kiss my neck feverishly and I grunted softly in response; I had no idea how she was able to tell where my weak spots were...maybe she was that good of a guesser or maybe she took a shot in the dark. Once she reached that point on my collarbone however, my hands became paralyzed and they fell limply to the bed as I began to get lost in pure bliss. She was _very_ skilled with those lips of hers.

She leaned up after a few seconds and smiled at me before bringing her lips to my ear.

"One point for me,"

I panted softly as she once again crashed her lips onto mine. Feeling new life flow into my hands, I leaned up and grabbed her by the waist, cradling her in my arms. It was her turn to be off guard. I began to kiss her neck on the spot I knew made her turn to mush. I smiled inwardly to myself once she started to moan softly. Her hands clung to my neck and her grip tightened in response, encouraging me to continue my actions.

My hands ghosted over her stomach until I reached that pesky skirt of hers. I quickly unsnapped it and removed it to see the matching panties. I was once again greeted with the sight of laces and once my eyes gave her a full rundown, I couldn't think of any other person who could make lace look as good as she makes it; it was practically made for her.

_"Holy shit…"_

Her body had come quite a long way since the day I first saw it exposed; her core was now quite defined, her skin was its usual grade of pure light brown perfection and her overall build was more athletic than it was before. She definitely benefited from all the martial arts training that she did with Jordan, Dawn and Caitlin these past few weeks; she was a lot stronger than she was when I first met her. Overall..._way_ beyond my standards.

She must've noticed my staring in awe at the sight of her body, my eyes hungrily devouring every single curve and contour and her legs…those _legs_ were just begging my hands to explore them. Her face was red but I shook my head.

"You shouldn't feel embarrassed..." I whispered.

I put my mouth to her ear.

"You're beautiful," I whispered.

**~ o ~**

Her breath hitched for a brief moment as I kissed the nape of her neck. My hands began to explore every inch of her exposed skin and her moans increased in intensity. Her fingers began to dig into my back and I could feel her heart racing a mile a minute. I moved to the valley between her modest bust and kissed it, causing a particularly loud moan. She once again surprised me when she suddenly pushed me forward, bringing me down to my back. She repeated the same torture on my neck and collarbone, causing me to groan in pleasure.

"...We should probably go to our room before we wake someone up..."

That adorable tone that only Katherine Leliani could do absolutely drove me up a wall; she knew how much I couldn't stand being teased in a position like this and if there as one thing she loved to do, it was drive me crazy…and she was **damn** good at it.

_"This woman…is gonna be the death of me…"_

My heart rate somehow quadrupled and my usual confidence and courage seemed to falter; she looked so damn good that I felt as if I was violating her innocence. I was no stranger to these things…but I was _with her_. She must've seen the glint of fear in my eyes as she placed her hands on my cheeks.

"If it gets too intense…don't hesitate to slow us down," I whispered.

She nodded slowly we made our way to our room.

* * *

**Meanwhile- The Pool Area**

"Two hours already passed?"

I leaned off of him.

"We've been out for an hour...wow, who'd have thought this could tired me out so much," I mused.

Paul shook his head.

"Guess all it took was a little bit of alcohol and some good old fashioned fun," he replied.

He suddenly rushed forward and captured my lips in yet another unknown hundredth kiss.

Once I had some drinks and ate my fill, the music started to play and the rest was history. He was really shy when it came to being on the dance floor and I had to approach him after some encouragement from Jordan and Lily...but it really paid off. Not only did he enjoy himself, I finally got to spend that time I've wanted with him ever since I first laid eyes on him way back when.

It was kind of scary actually...that I liked him so much just based off his appearance and it was really rare for me to base a whole crush on just that; I ordinarily had to get to know the guy in order to justify it to myself. At the same time however...he's a really nice person. He was really humble and down to earth...which wasn't at all something I could say about the vast majority of people present for this party. Maybe my crush wasn't useless after all...then again, most of what we did throughout the whole night was based almost entirely off sexual tension and alcohol.

I came out here with him two hours ago and we started to talk about a lot of things...until I decided to throw caution to the wind and pounce on him. That session continued for nearly an hour until we ended up falling asleep...right up until now.

I felt his hands begin to gently explore my body, pausing at my stomach and feeling the muscles I knew I built up over the years I spent in dance. His hands were soft, light and never overzealous; they explored at a pace that allowed me to control where they went. I encouraged him by drawing his hands towards my breasts and I could tell he was nervous. Above all else, I wanted to see what he would do.

To my surprise, he moved his hands down to my shirt and broke the kiss, looking at me. The deep red blush in his face indicated that he wanted to remove it but he didn't want to say the words. I responded by removing the shirt myself and tossing it into the basket behind me. He looked at me with hungry eyes, as if in disbelief that this was actually happening. I felt kind of glad that I picked tonight to wear my favourite underwear set, which was a dark red two piece set. I wasn't a fan of those hook bras or those mainstream strap panties so I opted for the tied version. The look in his eyes indicated that he had absolutely no objection with my choice.

"...You're beautiful," he whispered.

I felt some heat develop in my cheeks but now was not the time to act embarrassed; I needed to push him over the edge. I grabbed his shirt and roughly pulled him back down onto me. I smiled to myself when I felt his hands do exactly what I wanted them to..._entice_.

Of all the boyfriend I've had in the past, his hands were by **far** the most skilled. He didn't just explore like a crazed teenager on hormones...his movements were precise, gentle and most importantly, they had purpose. I didn't know if he learned my sweet spots or if he was just a good guesser...but once he reached my collarbone with his lips and the space between my ribs and abdomen with his hands, I felt myself begin to turn to mush. I couldn't help but moan loudly as his lips devoured my neck. He was...**very** good at this.

The longer he did this, the more I felt my feelings bottle up until finally, enough was enough. I immediately flipped our positions, shoving him down to the recliner and getting on top of him. He looked at me with slight astonishment and before he could say a word, I silenced him with my lips. My hands went under his shirt and I felt those abs of his. Still, he could be a bit more muscular but for a hunter who didn't really rely on strength and size, he was more than enough. I slowly began to move from his mouth as I made my way toward his neck. I stopped only for a moment to allow him to remove his shirt, tossing it aside to be forgotten for the rest of the night.

I could not believe my eyes. I guess it was because I had never looked at him up close like this before or maybe it was because of the insane levels of hormones running through me. His body just looked...**delicious**. His hands found their way to my pants and he unbuttoned them. I smiled to myself; I was getting through that wall of self-control he built up quite easily. As not to discourage him, I drew the pants off my body, revealing the other half of my underwear.

This as escalating...really quickly.

_"Don't do something you'll regret sis,"_

Jordan's words echoed in my head as I sighed softly and grabbed his hands.

"Maybe...we should stop here for now...we kind of just started this thing and it's moving a little too fast...no matter how much I like and want it to happen," I sighed.

Paul surprisingly nodded and instantly removed his hands from my body.

"We should probably get to our rooms before we get spotted in our underwear...it'd be awkward to have to explain that to your friends," he said.

I blushed profusely, suddenly aware that I was in nothing but my underwear.

"...Good idea...see you in the morning?" I asked.

He nodded and kissed my cheek.

"I'll cook you breakfast," he said with a wink.

I smiled.

"Don't make anything spicy...you went way too overboard with the first batch of chicken that you made today," I said rolling my eyes.  
"You got it,"


	10. Is It Really Paradise?

**(A/N): Chapter 9! I decided to convert the intended third part of the last two chapters into something else. This way, I can continue to get some much needed practice with the flashback technique.**

**Thanks to everyone for your feedback! It helps immensely.**

* * *

**Chapter 9: Is It Really Paradise?**

* * *

**The Following Morning**

"_Well…can't say I'm surprised that everyone ended up like this…"_

I looked around to see that many of the party goers from last night hadn't even bothered to go back to their rooms. Ajani, Andre, Vanna, Cody, Jenny and Justin were all over the room, resting on whatever their bodies landed on before exhaustion took over. Justin and Jenny ended up falling asleep on one of the recliners, Jenny laying right beside him snuggled in his arms. Vanna and Andre were in a similar position on the couch, only that Andre's arms hung off the edge of the couch rather than being wrapped around her. Ajani found refuge surprisingly on the floor though he was smart enough to steal a cushion from another seat to put his head on as well as using his jacket as a makeshift blanket. Cody was facedown on the coffee tablet, surprisingly falling asleep in a sitting up position with his head buried in his folded arms.

_"He's gonna have back problems for the rest of the day...that's for sure,"_

I then put a hand to my chin.

_"Wonder what happened to the others?"_

"Tony?"

I turned around to see that Lisa had already gotten into her swimsuit for the beach day we had planned with everyone and I laughed nervously.

"No one's awake yet...guess it was a bit much to expect from them considering how much alcohol they went through last night," I said.

Lisa shook her head.

"I checked on Jordan...Annabelle was in his room and he's already awake...I was thinking we could just do a huge group breakfast since we have so much stuff leftover?" she suggested.

I smiled at her.

"Good thinking...let's wait for him to get over here then since he's the really good cook," I said.

Lisa shook her head.

"You've clearly never eaten my cooking before then," she said with a wink.

I shook my head.

"Is there anything you _can't_ do? You handle paperwork like it's playing a game, you're more organized than a **lot** of people that I've met and now you can _cook_? Can you fly too?" I asked.

She snickered softly.

"How do you think I got over here so quickly?" she replied with a wink.

She quickly made her way into the kitchen.

_"This woman...too damn good for a bum like me,"_

* * *

**Meanwhile- Jordan's Room**

I quickly got dressed to cook breakfast; Lisa came here a few minutes earlier asking if I could help out but I didn't want to leave Belle with a hangover. I looked to the desk in front of me and reached for the drink I made her once I got out of the shower.

_"She's probably not going to like this...but it's one of the best ways to get over a hangover in case she has one,"_

I walked up to the bed and sat beside her, looking down at her sleeping form.

_"She's...so pretty..."_

She didn't really get a chance to go back to her room to get any clothes to change into so I gave her one of the spare long sleeved shirts I had in my bag for her to wear. She didn't really bother with modesty however as she removed her pants and slept in some shorts that revealed quite a lot of her legs. She was absolutely beautiful...and I have no idea how I was able to confess to her last night; it took a very long time for me to work up the courage to say anything to her...but what shocked me even more was the fact that she accepted my feelings. She actually liked me back...unbelievable.

_"Always thought she'd go for a Junior or something...not someone like me but I guess she has her reasons...that I'll probably never understand,"_

I gently ran a finger across her cheek and she slowly stirred.

"Hey...you alright?" I whispered.

She groaned in response.

"Hangovers...**fucking** suck..." she moaned.

I helped her to the back of the bed as she sat up and looked at me with tired eyes.

"Made you this...it'll help a lot," I said.

I handed her the drink as she cringed.

"A Bloody Mary...you've gotta be fucking with me," she groaned.  
"It's non-alcoholic and trust me...it helps a lot," I explained.

She seemed absolutely disgusted by the thought of consuming it.

"This feels like drinking medicine..." she sighed.  
"Unless you want to sleep the whole day," I replied.

She put the drink down and smiled at me.

"That doesn't sound too bad...never knew you were such a good pillow," she teased.

I looked away and laughed nervously.

"Well...your room was locked because Jocelyn for some reason decided to lock the door so the only other place I could've brought you was here..." I said.

She shook her head.

"Were you really going to let me sleep alone after what happened last night?" she asked.

I let out a nervous breath as I rose to my feet and cleared my throat.

"Well...when you get over your hangover...I'll be making breakfast," I said.

**~ o ~**

_"Oh no you don't...you don't get away that easily..."_

My hand shot out and grabbed his.

"What if I prefer if you brought me breakfast?" I asked with a suggestive stare.

He raised an eyebrow and smiled.

"What do you have in mind?" he asked.  
"Bacon...eggs...pancakes...hot chocolate...**you**," I replied with a wink.

Bingo. He lit up like a red stoplight as he cleared his throat.

"Well...when you put it that way," he began.

I pulled him back to the bed and immediately dragged him down to me, placing my mouth next to his ear.

"Don't keep me waiting,"

* * *

**Gary's Room**

"You had a little too much to drink didn't you?" I asked.

Gary growled at me before tossing a pillow into my face. I chuckled loudly.

"...No noise...just...need quiet..." he groaned.

I shook my head as I got out of the bed and stepped into the shower. Once I felt I was clean, I clothed myself appropriately and approached him. He was still in the bed, groaning loudly from the evident stomachache he was still suffering from.

"Come on...let's get you back on your feet," I urged.

She childishly whined.

"Go away **mom**," he groaned.

I laughed loudly as I lifted her into my arms.

"You need to puke...I can hear it in your voice," I said.

I helped him into the bathroom, barely able to support his weight over my shoulder and set him by the toilet.

"Get it over with," I said.

I mentally counted down from ten and right on cue, he began to puke.

"You're welcome," I said in a sing song voice.

A knock on the door drew my attention away from him.

"I'll be right back," I said.

He groaned loudly in response as I left him to answer the door. Much to my surprise, it was Lisa.

"What's up?" I asked.  
"Was hoping to get some extra hands to help out with the cooking; Jordan and I can't do it all alone," she explained.

I snickered.

"By Jordan and I you really mean Jordan right?" I replied.

Lisa shrugged.

"He insisted on letting me rest because I had quite a bit of alcohol not to mention I didn't get a lot of sleep last night..." she said.

I noticed that she blushed very deeply as the last words rolled off her tongue and I mentally snickered to myself.

_"She **clearly** had an interesting night with Tony..."_

"Alright, I'll be there in a minute once I get dressed," I replied.

Lisa smiled at me before attempting to peer inside.

"Is Gary okay?" she asked.

The sound of him retching made her face cringe a little.

"He's in no condition to be of any help to anyone...I'll be there soon," I said.

Lisa nodded and left.

* * *

**Paul's Room**

"You really ended up going that far?" asked Ji.

I rolled my eyes as I looked back to my phone, looking through my emails about any work I had to do once we got back to campus this evening.

"Damn...Pablo got game," teased Lixy.  
"Hardy har har you two" I replied.

I threw a shirt to Ji and handed a virgin Bloody Mary to Lixy, who was still rather irritating despite being in the middle of a hangover.

"She's a really nice girl...and I think you should pursue that," said Ji.  
"Carrie's really nice...but you better be careful of her friends because if you screw up, they'll make you suffer for it," warned Lixy.

My thoughts drifted back to the rumors I heard about Jordan at the Freshman party, when he took down Gary, Kevin and Jackson by himself without any sort of trouble.

_"If he did that to those three...can't imagine what he could do to me if he was angry enough,"_

I sighed deeply as I placed my phone back down.

"So did you guys call me here to make fun of me?" I growled.  
"Not at all actually...there's actually something important that we have to tell you," said Lixy.

She tapped her tablet's screen a few times before handing it to Paul.

"It's about the foreign exchange program...you got accepted," said Lixy.  
"...I did?" I asked in disbelief.  
"You, Jocelyn and a few others got approved to go...so you guys are gonna spend the next half a year in China," said Ji.  
"...So I have until the end of this semester to live it up...then I have to go half way across the globe for a program I didn't think I'd get into?" I asked.

Ji sighed deeply and approached me before placing a hand on my shoulder.

"You don't have to go if you don't want to...but that's the question isn't it?...**_do_** you want to?" he said.

My eyes narrowed as I cursed under my breath.

_"Just when things were really beginning to look great too...now I have to choose going to China to be a part of the program I've sought after for two years since I started coming to this place or staying with Carrie..."_

I hate my fucking life right now.

* * *

**Katherine's Room**

I slowly began to stir but much to my discomfort, my body felt heavy...almost as if it suddenly decided that it wanted to turn into a ten ton weight.

_"Holy shit...I'm never going to drink that much for the rest of my life...**fuck** hangovers,"_

I turned my head but what really caught my attention was the feel...of someone breathing?

_"Where...the hell am I?"_

My ears began to regain their focus and soon, I realized that it was Katherine who was sound asleep...in my arms?!

_"Oh...right...we **did** things didn't we?"_

**...**

_I don't know what the hell was driving me to continue all of this...but I wasn't complaining. I followed her to her room, kicking the door shut behind us as she pulled me onto the bed with her. I wasted no time in finding her lips again, my hands restlessly beginning to explore her mostly exposed body._

**"Why...why does this not feel wrong?..."  
**

_I paused to take a good look at her. Her long onyx hair was strewn all over the bed, almost forming a makeshift blanket with it's sheer volume. Her eyes were slightly dilated but they weren't by any means indicative of her being absolutely drunk. They radiated two things...curiosity and longing. I met Katherine a few weeks ago and even though it really hasn't been a very long length of time, she grew into a very close friend...to the point where she actually knew things about me that even Jordan and Flora didn't. She had one hell of a smile...a smile that brought warmth to my heart every time she happened to display it._

_My eyes wandered away from her face to see her body. Her job on campus as a lifeguard definitely gave her a fit and slim build. Curves and contours that I didn't notice before somehow became very apparent and even though I considered myself to be interested only in men...she **definitely** had a lot going for her. Her underwear was a dark blue and dear god...does lace look **good** on her. She wasn't by any means the level of slim the average supermodel was but it worked very well for her; she had enough content where it counted to be a very well balanced person. And her skin...her skin felt as soft as satin and it was undoubtedly the thing that I now adored most to touch and caress._

_She seemed to notice my thorough examination of her as she blushed profusely._

_"You're staring again..." she whispered._

_I shook my head._

_"I can't help it if you're gorgeous now can I?" I replied with a smile._

_She was clearly appreciative of my words as she calmed down significantly._

_"...Is this at all weird to you? Because if it is...then you don't have to do anything else...you can just go to sleep," she said._

_I smiled at her._

_"Do you really think that I'm going to back out of this when you've gotten me **so** into it?"_

_Who would've thought that it would be my best friend that I'd start to feel like this for and a girl no less? Those eyes of hers were a pair I grew to be glad to wake up and see everyday and after all we've been through together, I don't think anything short of death itself would separate us. I knew however that Estelle wasn't entirely into this thing. Sure she definitely cared about me and there's just about nothing she wouldn't do for me if I asked her...but I knew I was applying pressure. It was selfish of me to put her through that but quite frankly...I didn't give a damn. At the moment, all that mattered to me right now was to celebrate the fact that we were all alive. I grabbed her hand and pulled her into an intense kiss. She quickly caught onto my intentions as she kissed back with about equal fervor. This continued to heat up until we were in nothing but our underwear. I stopped for air, panting heavily as she looked down at me with deep interest._

_"You're never normally so forward..." I said raising my eyebrow._

_Estelle smiled._

_"I'm particularly happy today...and I'm glad that nothing happened to you,"_

_I raised an eyebrow, tracing my hand along Estelle's lotus to my surprise, she guided the stray hand to her chest, smiling deviously as she did. I snickered softly._

_"Naughty..." I teased._  
_"Don't pretend you don't like it,"_

_I leaned up and began to explore her exposed neck with my lips while my hands covered as much of her body as they could. She let out heavy breaths and soft moans as she melted in my arms, her hands weakly locked around my neck being the only indication that she hadn't drifted off completely into bliss._

_I reached collarbone and found myself nibbling gently at parts while simply ghosting others. Her more intense moans and her arms losing their grip indicated that I had finally pushed her to that point. I lowered her to the bed but as soon as I did, she flipped our positions._

_**~ o ~**_

_I have no idea how Janet got these skills of hers...maybe she had a natural talent of knowing how to make people turn to mush in her arms or maybe she was just that damn skilled with her lips. Whatever it was...it certainly worked on me. My hands drifted down from her neck to her chest and I crashed my lips back onto hers. She of course responded in her usual fearless manner, using her hands to feel my body as if she were making it a duty to touch it all._

_I couldn't think of a time that we had a more intense moment than this and even though I was sort of sad that Carrie ended up moving out of here...I was somewhat glad as well because it was a long time since Janet and I had a moment like this to ourselves. This intense kissing soon turned into an intense tongue lock that she absolutely refused to lose. A few moments into this, I felt my bra strap loosen and it fell on top of her as she looked at me with a rather feisty glint in her eyes. I responded in kind, snapping her bra loose as she leaned up and cradled me, not even giving the garment a single second of attention._

_"What're we about to do?" I panted._  
_"Nothing good...but I don't give a shit,"_

**...**

Even though it was completely unlike me, I had no idea why I didn't stop myself from doing any of that. For some reason...I was perfectly fine with it. I knew that I was definitely interested in men but for some reason...it felt comfortable to do anything with her. Even though, we haven't been friends for all that long, it really felt as if I had a connection with her. I could be myself without fear of being judged and that wasn't something I could say about the vast majority of people that I know.

"Are you feeling better?"

I turned to see that Katherine had awakened and was now sitting up, looking at me with concerned eyes.

"I should be asking you that; your eyes are still red," I replied.

Katherine yawned in response.

"Still really tired...I mean we only got about four hours of sleep," she said.

I nodded.

"I guess it is a little early...but we have a long day planned before we go back to hell," said Katherine.  
"Ugh...don't remind me; I really don't want to go back...it's so nice here and it's like all the worries of doing that paper for the next day just don't bother me here..." I replied.

Katherine sighed as she sat up.

"I guess it's all the more reason to ensure we have as much fun as we can today right?" she said.

I smiled and nodded slowly.

"So what mischief will we cause today?" I asked with a snicker.

* * *

**Later That Afternoon- The Beach**

The music continued to blast as I let out a lazy sigh.

_"Where the hell did he go?...He just disappeared without a trace...sometimes I kinda hate that he's so good at making himself scarce,"_

"Belle?"

I turned to see Flora.

"Have you seen my brother?" she asked.  
"Not at all...not since he brought me breakfast this morning and he doesn't seem to have told anyone where he would be," I replied.

Flora shook her head.

"Knowing him, he's probably in a tree or on a roof somewhere; he has a thing for climbing up to hard to reach places," she explained.  
"Why?" I asked rolling my eyes.  
"Do you expect any less from a guy who likes to do parkour?" she replied.

I laughed softly.

"I suppose not...so where's everyone else?" I asked.  
"Gary and Lily have disappeared _again_, I think Paul and Carrie already went back to campus because I saw his car drive out and Carrie's nowhere to be found, Justin is still with Jenny at the pool area, haven't seen Tony and Lisa since breakfast...I'm gonna assume Cody is with Jordan because they tend to disappear together and everyone else is still out playing volleyball," she said.

I shrugged.

"Can I ask you something?" I said.

Flora nodded.

"Do you think things have been different between everyone since everybody seems to be leaving the market so to speak?" I asked.

Flora put a hand to her chin and sighed softly.

"I have noticed a lack of contact with Lily...I mean I understand it because she is a medical student after all but it's like all her free time is thrown to him rather than me and Jordan...even though we've been around far longer," she explained.  
"Sounds like jealousy," I said with a shrug.

She shook her head.

"I'm just hoping that it doesn't end up turning into something that pulls us all apart because I've seen a lot of things like that; it's something Jordan always tells me about and now I'm really beginning to understand what he was saying," she said.

I smiled.

"How about your friends?" I asked.  
"Jenny's really happy and I honestly don't see a thing wrong with Justin...apart from his unfairly high skill in volleyball and surfing which makes everyone else like they're standing still," she replied.

I snickered.

"Raina and Anson didn't come out for breakfast so I'm assuming they're quite happy together...even though Anson kind of ruined it all with his horrible tolerance for alcohol," she said.  
"He's still having a hangover?" I asked.

She nodded slowly.

"Raina's a really kind and motherly person so I guess it fits him," she said.  
"What about Vanna? I heard that Steven likes her a lot," I said.

Flora again shook her head.

"Andre's been in her sights for a lot longer and honestly, he's been there for her a lot more than Steven...especially when we started coming to UOA," she said.  
"So they're basically stable?"  
"As stable as a young 18 year old couple can be yes," she replied sticking out her tongue.

I raised an eyebrow and smirked at her.

"What about you?"

Flora shook her head.

"I don't know...Cody's really sweet and he doesn't mistreat me at all but I just don't want a fight to destroy the friendship we've had; he's too important to me," she explained.  
"So you broke up with him for the greater good?" I asked.

She nodded slowly.

"He's a good kid from what I've heard from your brother; I'm sure it'll work itself out and who knows, maybe you two can try again once both your heads are screwed on properly," I said.

Flora looked at me with an unamused face.

"That kid was really happy when he was with you...the number of times Jordan has stepped away during tutoring to talk to him about you...you'd really be amazed," I said.

Flora's eyes widened for a brief moment before she turned away.

"He really has a thing for you...are you leading him on?" she asked.  
"...Not at all," I replied.

She seemed a little more convinced than when she asked the question.

"Knowing him, he's probably on the top half of the beach, underneath that huge palm tree," she said.  
"The one with the big hammock?" I asked.

Flora nodded.

"He likes secluded places like that," she said.

She then winked at me and walked off to rejoin everyone else. I put a hand to my chin.

_"Maybe this **can** work out after all..."_

* * *

**Later That Night- UOA's Campus **

"That's the last bag," I said.

She smiled at me and nodded gratefully.

"Thanks for helping me out; Belle went to go take care of some book club stuff and I don't think I could've taken all of this inside on my own," she said.  
"Anytime," I replied.

She smiled at me and turned to enter her room. She however froze for a moment.

"I got into the foreign exchange program," she said.

My eyes widened as she turned back to me smiling. Even though she was smiling brightly...I had learned to be able to tell when it was a hollow one. I looked down at the ground.

"You don't seem very enthused about it," I replied.

Jocelyn shook her head, allowing the smile to fade away.

"I have to spend 8 months over there with probably no internet or anything like that...well, at least reliable," she explained.

I looked away, remembering the day I saw her in the gym as I felt a slight tug at my heartstrings.

"You should go; it's an opportunity for you and I mean...you've been trying to get into the program for a while haven't you?" I asked.

She again didn't seem very sure of herself as she looked down.

**~ o ~**

I couldn't put my finger on it...but for some reason, he seemed a lot more distant. I don't know when it started happening or even why...but Jordan seemed a little bit more at arm's length than he was a few weeks ago. Our tutoring sessions rarely had the same level of fun we had when we first started out.

"Is...everything okay?" I asked.

Jordan's face froze for a moment before he shook his head and smiled.

"It's nothing big, so I'll see you tomorrow in class?" he asked.

His voice felt..._hollow_.

"Are you sure there's nothing wrong?" I asked again.

He shook his head.

"See you tomorrow," he said.

He turned and left without a further word.

_"Why do __I feel like I did something to cause this..."_

That sinking feeling in my gut made me feel sick...but all I could do now was hope that he'd talk to me about it one day; I'd hate to lose him as a friend.


End file.
